Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime & Cilantro

I guess I'm still a grill noob, excited by the prospect of trying to grill anything.

We've had tons of fun grilling all sorts of stuff our year in the new home. We've grilled vegetables, like asparagus, zucchini, and eggplant. We've even tried fruit, such as pineapples (Bryan's favorite) and peaches (served with ice cream on top, yum!).  We've done entire salmon filets many times (one of our favorites!) and various steaks on a semi-regular basis.

For some odd reason, one day I thought it might be fun to try grilling potatoes.

Can you even grill a potato? I'd never heard of anyone grilling potatoes. I don't think I'd ever had it at a restaurant.

Perhaps the closest thing I'd had was tin-foil wrapped potatoes (not unlike Bryan's family's famous tin-foil chicken) thrown into a fire during a camping trip.

Thankfully, the internet is full of answers. I found a great, simple Bobby Flay recipe for grilled sweet potatoes, kicked up with lime, cayenne pepper, and cilantro.

Bryan loves cilantro and basically is a huge fan of anything Bobby Flay makes, so I was pretty confident this would be a winner.

Sweet potatoes are a bit tricky to grill. You need to pre-cook the potatoes. Bobby Flay suggests boiling the potatoes until they become soft. To save time, I microwaved mine instead for about 5-6 minutes.  Note - don't forget to poke holes in the sweet potato with a fork before microwaving. Otherwise, the steam created inside will cause the potato to explode! I learned this the hard way in my toaster oven in college!

You don't want to overcook the potatoes. If they become too mushy, they become far too floppy and delicate for the grill.

While microwaving (or boiling), prepare your topping by mixing together fresh lime zest, cayenne pepper, and salt. Chop up some cilantro on the side.
 
Once the potatoes are cooked. Slice them into evenly thick pieces (mine were about half an inch) or cut wedges. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. 

Season with the salt mixture and top with chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!


Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime & Cilantro
recipe from Bobby Flay, with tweaks in the method by me

Ingredients
3 sweet potatoes, unpeeled
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Parcook or microwave sweet potatoes (remember to pierce potato skins with a fork if you plan on microwaving!) for about 5-6 minutes, or until mostly cooked but not yet mushy (it's harder to grill when it becomes too floppy!)

Meanwhile, mix 1 tablespoon of salt, lime zest, and cayenne in a small bowl to make the salt mixture.

Cut the potatoes into nice, thick slices or wedges. Brush all sides with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Season with the salt mixture and top with chopped cilantro.

Serve!