BBQ Sweet Potatoes with Lemon Thyme

This recipe is ideal for a summer BBQ.  The scent and flavours of the sweet potatoes amazed me after all these years of cooking them.  It is an example of a simple ingredient which transforms into a gusty flavour when done on top of charcoal on the BBQ.

Ingredients

• 3 big sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon red chilli flakes

Ingredients for the Sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1/3 cup lemon thyme, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• salt and pepper to taste

Method for the Sauce

• Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Season well with salt and pepper

Method for the Potatoes

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Scrub the potatoes and wash.  Pat dry with a paper towel.
• Wrap the potatoes in foil paper and place them directly on the rack in the centre of the oven.
• Bake them for 30 minutes or until they are cooked but not too tender when a skewer is inserted into the centre.  Do not allow the potatoes to cool or they will break instead of smash.

• Put one potato on a clean dishcloth on a work surface, cover with another clean dishcloth, and using the flat of your hands, slowly and gently smash the potato.  Repeat with the remaining potatoes and transfer them to a tray.

• Drizzle the sauce over them and make sure that both sides are well covered.

• Carefully place the sweet potatoes on the BBQ.  Cook them on one side until crisp and then turn them to crisp the other side.
• To serve, slice the sweet potatoes in quarters and sprinkle them with red chilli flakes.  Drizzle with some of the sauce if you have any left.

Tips

• If you want you can part boil the sweet potatoes in salted water in the kitchen ahead of time,  but I find the flavour is a bit bland.
• The sauce can be made ahead of time and can be kept in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.