Sweet Potato Chips with Harissa Tahini Dip

A lovely snack or side! I love a good dip and the harissa & tahini goes wonderfully with the smoky polenta covered fries.

Roasting sweet potatoes will never be as crunchy as deep fat frying them or potatoes, but I love the fact that they are roasted, giving all the sweetness time to really caramelise and intensify. Just as good but different.

You can save time by buying ‘ready cut’ fries but they will be more like wedges than fries.

Recipe inspiration Yotam Ottolenghi.

Two large baking sheets, lined with baking paper.

• 1kg sweet potatoes, cut into chips
• 1 tablespoon Spanish smoked sweet potato
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 30g course polenta (opt)
• 100ml olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sumac
• flaked sea salt & pepper

Harissa & Tahini Dip

• 1/4 cup good tahini
• 1 tablespoon harissa
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or more to taste)
• 3 tablespoons water (or more to make a sauce)
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 230c (a hot oven is important here) at least 20 minutes before you are ready to roast.
2. In a large bowl add the polenta, olive oil, cayenne, garlic and paprika, season to taste and mix well with your hands.
3. Lay the sweet potatoes in single layers (no overlapping) on the baking sheets and roast for 15 minutes in the pre-heated oven, turn the sweet potatoes and roast for another 15 minutes or until golden and crisp.
4. Meanwhile, mix the tahini and harissa in a small bowl, add the lemon juice and water and mix well, season to taste. Add enough water to make a thick and luscious dip, adding more lemon juice and seasoning.
5. Season the sweet potatoes with the sumac and flaky sea salt. Serve the sweet potatoes with the dip for everyone to help themselves to, best served warm. Enjoy.