Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Recipe from Jenny:

This is what I made for trapeza this past weekend--the main dish variation at the bottom.

Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 45 min

Servings: Makes 4 to 6 servings.

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds sweet potatoes (or half sweet, half regular)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Coarsely grind coriander, fennel, oregano, and red pepper flakes in an electric coffee/spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Stir together spices and salt.

Cut potatoes lengthwise into 1-inch wedges.

Toss wedges with oil and spices in a large roasting pan and roast in middle of oven 20 minutes. Turn wedges over with a spatula and roast until tender and slightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes more.

Main Dish Variation:
Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes with Red Lentils

Prepare as above, but only roast potatoes until barely tender. If desired, you can chop the potatoes into smaller pieces. While they are roasting, in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over med-low heat, saute 1 minced onion and 2 minced cloves of garlic in 1 tbs oil until nicely golden and soft (around 10 minutes). When the sweet potatoes are done, add 3 cups water, 2 bouillon cubes, and 1 ½ cups red lentils to the pot. Bring to a boil and dump in sweet potatoes. When it returns to a boil, turn down to med-low and cook, stirring occasionally, 20-30 minutes or till lentils are done and desired state of "mushiness" is achieved. The sweet potatoes will break into smaller pieces and partially dissolve into the lentils. Add salt, if needed, and cilantro, if desired, and serve over rice.

(Adapted from a recipe on smittenkitchen.com)