Sweet potato recipes are usually time-intensive procedures, but it’s not the case with what I’m about to show you. All it takes is a mandolin slicer to turn this classic American Soul Food ingredient into a sandwich fixing in only 20 to 30 minutes. They add a plant-based “meaty” texture to your vegetarian sandwiches and are a great source of potassium.
If you have a large griddle, you can make these in huge batches and store them in the refrigerator for a few days. Definitely consider adding this plant-based sandwich fixing to your diet if you’re trying to cut down on your meat intake.
Many brands of mandolin slicers exist, so find one that you like. Do not try cutting these slices with a knife, as it can be a super dangerous trying to achieve such thinness manually. Once you have evenly thin slices, simply brush both sides with a little olive oil, sprinkle each side with kosher salt. Over medium heat, grill each side for about 15 minutes, and you’re done. Each surface will caramelize and the interior will be moist and naturally sweet.
A mandolin slicer set at the second-to-thickest setting usually works best for nicely shaped slices. CAUTION … Be sure to use the blade guard that comes with the slicer to avoid slicing your fingers.
Be careful, PLEASE!!!
Critics of this sweet potato concept say that it’s too dangerous and I do understand the concern. Someone I know said she would be too afraid of “slicing off her hand”. My response was, “But we grew up playing with lawn darts in the 80s and nobody got punctured”. That said, there are ways to make this safer:
- A blade guard comes with mandolin slicers, so make sure you use it.
- You can also buy a cut glove
- Stop slicing once your sweet potato is too tiny to fit in the blade guard. Use the unsliced sweet potato pieces to make my Jamaican Curry Sweet Potato Dip wit Candied Ginger
- Do NOT try to agressively slice the sweet potatoes in one swift stroke. Instead, gently wiggle it through the blade in side-by-side motions.
PROTECT your hand by using a cut glove, or get creative by using a vegetable peeler or a butter knife to protect your fingers when your sweet potato gets down to a nib. Or if you have thimbles, use them.
Sweet Potato Cold Cuts
ingredients
• sweet potatoes, peeled
• olive oil
• kosher salt
instructions
- To slice your sweet potatoes, use the second-thickest setting. This can be dangerous, so sure to use the blade guard that comes with your slicer. Do NOT try to slice them in one swift stroke. Instead, gently wiggle it through the blade in side-by-side motions. You can also flip it around to start from the other side and the cuts will meet in the middle.
- Once sliced, brush each side of your sweet potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle each side with kosher salt.
- Over medium high heat, cook your slices for about 15 minutes on the first side, then about 10 minutes on the second. Be sure to watch them.
