10 Savory Sweet Potato Recipes

Bernice has been gone two weeks. I am not going to say I am okay because I am not okay and I have learned, in the two years since Marcus, that saying I am okay when I am not is a form of dishonesty that costs more than it saves. I am not okay. I am here. I am cooking. I am calling my siblings—Doris every other day, James once a week, Carolyn and I have been talking more than we have in years, the distance between us closing in the way crises close distances. I am taking care of Willie James the way Mama would have—I call the nursing home every day, I talk to the aides, I arrange for extra sweet potato pie to be delivered because Willie James still eats, because the body remembers what the mind forgets, and Bernice's pie is the thing his body will remember longest.

I am not cooking for other people yet. The bag meals paused when Mama went to the hospital and I haven't resumed them. Sister Agnes is coordinating with the Food Bank to keep the hungry fed in the interim—she is good and capable and she is managing it without me, which is both the right outcome and the thing that makes me understand, in my bones, how Bernice felt during the years I ran the church kitchen in Ensley without her: proud and slightly sidelined and trusting that the work is being done right even when it's not being done by your hands.

Calvin is grieving too. He loved Bernice. She was not his mother but she taught his wife everything that has made his marriage a marriage rather than a transaction, and he knew this and appreciated it and now she is gone and he sits in the den some evenings and looks at nothing. I bring him food. He eats it. We do not talk about her much. We hold her the way you hold things that are too large for words—in the body, in the space between two people who are breathing the same grief air in the same house. Together. Still here. Still together.

Sweet potato pie was the thread I kept pulling on through all of this — arranging for it to reach Willie James, thinking about how Bernice made it, understanding that some things bypass the mind entirely and go straight to the body’s oldest knowing. I wasn’t ready to bake her pie yet. But I could cook with sweet potatoes. I could stay in that neighborhood, close to her, and let these savory preparations be the way I kept my hands moving while I figured out what grief was going to ask of me next.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 4–6

Ingredients

2 lbs sweet potatoes, scrubbed and peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Instructions

Prep the sweet potatoes. Cut sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Pat dry with a clean towel so they roast rather than steam.
Season and roast. Toss sweet potato cubes with olive oil, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and cayenne if using. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast at 400°F for 25–30 minutes, turning once halfway through, until edges are caramelized and centers are tender.
Build the savory base. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.
Combine and finish. Add roasted sweet potatoes to the skillet. Pour in broth and stir gently to coat, letting the liquid reduce for 2–3 minutes until the potatoes are glazed and the pan is nearly dry. Taste and adjust salt.
Serve. Transfer to a serving dish and scatter green onions over the top. Serve warm as a side alongside roasted chicken, braised greens, or simply on their own with good bread.

Nutrition (per serving)

10 Savory Sweet Potato Recipes — The Thing His Body Will Remember Longest