Spin-Painted Sweet Potato inspired by Chef Massimo Bottura

“Recipes are THERE to be CHANGED!” – Chef Massimo Bottura (with waving arms). This chef is my current inspiration. I started taking his Masterclass after I started tearing up at one of the youtube video trailers. The waterworks started when he said: “Food is a transfer of emotion”.

So, when Massimo asked me to make my version of “Spin-Painted Beet”, this is what I created. You could call mine “Spin-Painted Sweet Potato,” but I like to call it playfully, “LA Thanksgiving”.

To me Thanksgiving is the mix of candied sweet potatoes and mole. This is me using the regional ingredients (dried chiles, sweet potatoes, and corn) to tell my story. And really, it felt SOO GOOD to make it. I have opened a new chapter into creativity! Food is not just about health, not just about globe-trotting, but about STORYTELLING. I think one of the most awesome titles I could get bestowed to me in this lifetime is the title “Culinary Storyteller”.

Food is a crutch that helps me tell my story safely (for an introvert like me). And I see it in others too, how just talking about food, makes it easier to share harder parts about ourselves. Start with food- this has been my approach to life. It’s amazing how sharing a meal leads to another thing and another thing. Like MFK Fisher said, “First, we eat, then, we do everything else.”

Today I present to you LA Thanksgiving- Roasted Sweet Potato, Guajillo, Cilantro-Lime, Sweet Corn and Coffee Salt.

Recipe is a little complicated but maybe you can take inspiration here and there to create your own!

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Roasted Sweet Potato

1 sweet potato
salt, pepper, olive oil

400 F for 1.5 hours. Wrap in foil.

Guajillo Sauce

1 dried guajillo chile, lightly toasted, deseeded
1/4 of a small onions
5 cherry tomatoes
½-1 cup water

Cover ingredients with just enough water to come to the shoulders of the tomatoes. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until chile is soft. Then, blend and pass through a strainer.

Cilantro-Lime Sauce

1 small bunch cilantro
drizzle of olive oil
small squeeze of lime
pinch of honey
pinch of salt

Blanch the cilantro in boiling salted water until it turns bright green (about 1 minute), then place in an ice bath. Blend with remaining ingredients and pass through a strainer

Sweet Corn Puree

½ cup frozen corn
⅓ cup oat milk
pinch salt

Heat corn, oat milk, and salt in a small sauce pot for 5 minutes or so. Then blend, and pass through a strainer.

Coffee Salt

1 Tbsp. used coffee grounds
1-2 Tbsp. sea salt

Mix coffee with salt and place in the oven at 300 F for 30 minutes or so, or until the coffee dries out. Store in an air tight container. Finish the sweet potato with this.

Additional: I use Cayenne Date Syrup to make the black lines. You could use balsamic or other syrup but the spice in D’vash date syrup worked great.