Rocoto BBQ Sweet Potato Steaks

This is a very light meal that is spicy and flavorful. The spicy BBQ sauce is perfectly balanced by the mild, creamy sweet potato, and the bean salad is packed with protein.

Serves 4

2 medium sweet potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash sweet potatoes and rub skins generously with oil. Roast on a baking sheet until tender, about45 minutes depending on the size of the sweet potato. Remove the oven and allow to cool. Slice into 3/4″ thick “steaks.”
If you have a grill pan, heat it up and lightly oil. Grill the sweet potato steaks util both sides have grill marks and the steaks are hot all the way through.

Serve the steaks on a bed of the soltero bean salad (see recipe below) with some warm BBQ sauce and topped with salsa criollo. Drizzle with aji amarillo sauce (optional) (see recipe below).

For the Rocoto BBQ Sauce:
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 cup pureed rocoto pepper (if you don’t have rocoto pepper, substitute any chili sauce, like sriracha)
1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard

In a large sauce pan, saute the onion in the olive oil on low heat for about 7 minutes till golden and translucent. Add the minced garlic and saute for about 1 more minute.
Add the rest of the ingredients (except the mustard) and cook for 30 minutes on low heat. Add the mustard and test for the balance of sweetness, acidity and salt. Adjust as necessary. Allow to cool and puree in a blender until smooth.
Warm a little of the sauce before serving.

For the Soltero Salad:
1 cup cannelini beans
1/2 cup cooked fava beans
1 small tomato, diced
1/4 cup red onion, minced
2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 cup fingerling potatoes, cooked and sliced in half
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together in a salad bowl with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the Salsa Criolla:
1/2 red onion
1 cup chopped cilantro
juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper to taste
1 small jalapeño, seeded and sliced

Toss all ingredients and set aside until ready to serve.

For the Aji Amarillo Sauce (optional):
4 frozen aji amarillo peppers, defrosted (these are a traditional pepper in Peru that is used widely in their cuisine. If you can’t find it don’t worry, you can use another pepper or just skip this sauce altogether!)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Puree everything until smooth.

To plate this dish, spoon some of the BBQ sauce onto the plate. Next put some of the saltier bean salad onto the plate.

Place the grilled sweet potato onto the bean salad and top it with a little more BBQ sauce and finally top with a little handful of the salsa criolla.

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