Roasting Mangoes Make Sweet Potatoes Taste Much Sweeter!

My sister-from-another-mother and her family are from South India. And when it comes to food and eating, she and I are joined at the hip. We have regular family dinners and share holidays together, and I like to incorporate flavors and ingredients from her heritage in our meals to make all of us feel included at our family table. I also like to show my 7 year old niece, who is my little sous chef for our meals, that family dinners are about showing love through food.

My sister regularly fries black mustard seeds to flavor myriad dishes (read this great article on tempering spices from our friends at The Kitchn). I have come to love them through her; they are so fragrant and flavorful, and are wonderful on top of soups, yogurt and many other things. For Spring Thanksgiving a few years ago, when mangos were coming in season, I decided to mix things up and roast a few not-so-ripe mangos with a couple sweet potatoes and make a quick, sticky, kinda sweet dressing flavored with popped mustard seeds. The result was a big hit.

This dish is now on regular dinner rotation. We loved it so much, we make it for weeknight dinners. The glaze takes just a few minutes to make, and you can make it ahead of time. I like to use a Swissmar Mandoline to slice the sweet potatoes and mangos to ensure everyone gets rich sweet potato and sweet mango in every bite. A chef’s knife will do, though.

Serves: 6-8 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, halved, thinly sliced

• 2 not-so-ripe mangos, peeled, halved, thinly sliced

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

• ½ cup honey

• ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar

• 1 tablespoon yellow or black whole mustard seeds

• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Arrange the sweet potatoes and mango in a large cast iron skillet or 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops with two tablespoons of oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat to get it hot, about 2 minutes. Add in the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat until it shimmers, 1-2 minutes. Add the spices, cover, and cook until the mustard seeds pop. Immediately remove from the heat, uncover and stir with a large spoon, then crush the spices using the back of the spoon. Stir in the honey and vinegar. Set aside.

4. After 30 minutes, brush the potatoes and mangoes with ¾ of glaze and continue roasting for 20-30 minutes more, or until the sweet potatoes and mangoes are tender when inserted with a knife. Remove from the oven.

5. Drizzle the remaining glaze over top. Garnish with the cilantro leaves.

6. Serve.

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