Peri Peri Hasselback Sweet Potato

Peri Peri Hasselback Sweet Potato

We make these Peri Peri Hasselback Sweet Potatoes whenever we want something that looks seriously impressive but is actually pretty simple to pull off. The sweet potato goes all caramelised and crispy at the edges, and the peri peri marinade soaks right down into every slice, so every single bite is smoky, spicy, and a little bit sweet. There's something really satisfying about slicing into one of these and watching all those layers fan out on the plate. Honestly, if you've never hasselback'd a sweet potato before, this is the one to start with. Get them in the oven tonight, you won't regret it.

Cook: 65 min
Serves 3

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Large baking tray
  • Tin foil squares
  • Bowl for soaking potatoes
  • Small mixing bowl
  • Blender or food processor
  • Soak sweet potatoes for 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 tsp paprika
  • 3 large sweet potatoes
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 3 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 dried oregano
  • ½ tbsp lemon juice
  • 6 tbsp soy milk
  • 2 ripe avocado
  • 3 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • rocket
  • 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds
  • 1 large red chilli

Method

1

Prepare the potatoes

  • Take 2 wooden spoons and lay them next to each to each other to form rails
  • Put a sweet potato on top of the rails and use a sharp knife to slice it, very thinly (almost as thin as thick potato chips - be careful not to cut all the way through the sweet potatoes - they need to remain whole)
  • Put the potatoes in a bowl of water and soak them for 10 minutes (this will help the cooking process)
2

Coat and bake the potatoes

  • Put all the peri peri ingredients in a small mixing bowl and mix them together
  • Place the potatoes on single squares of tin foil, drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil, cover them with the peri peri spice mix (making sure the mix gets in between the slices of potato)
  • Put the potato parcels on a baking tray and bake them for 45-50 minutes (take them out of the oven and open the parcels for the final 10 minutes)
3

Make the avocado aoili

  • Put all the Avocado Aioli ingredients in the liquidiser and whizz them up into a thick, green cream
4

Finish and serve

  • Take the potatoes out of the oven, serve them on nests of rocket
  • Drizzle over the avocado aioli and sprinkle over the pomegranate and red chilli seeds

Tips & Variations

  • Make it milder: If you're cooking for people who don't love heat, just pull back on the chilli in your peri peri sauce and add a squeeze of lemon to keep it bright and punchy.
  • Use the soak time wisely: While the potatoes are soaking, get your peri peri sauce made and everything else prepped. It makes the whole process feel really smooth and easy.
  • Crispy edges every time: Make sure you're getting the sauce right down into the cuts, not just over the top. A pastry brush or even a spoon works great for this. That's where all the flavour lives.

Why This Works

The trick here is soaking the sliced potatoes in water before they go in the oven. It sounds a bit extra but trust us, it makes a real difference to how evenly they cook and helps those edges get properly crispy. The wooden spoon rail method is a game changer too, it keeps your knife from going all the way through so the whole thing stays in one beautiful piece.