A simple side dish is always a great staple to keep in your cooking arsenal, especially during busy weeknights. I wanted to use Spice Tribe’s Marrakesh Sitar Spice Blend this go-round of recipe work and I was honestly surprised that I hadn’t tried this blend yet. My ongoing partnership with Spice Tribe has helped me with staying creative and I was excited to use this blend with a basic recipe that I like enjoying on lazy days. The dipping sauce quickly comes together with some fridge staples for a cooling touch for the warm and spiced sweet potatoes.

The Marrakesh Sitar blend is based on a Morrocan Ras el Hanout blend, which translates to “top shelf” in Arabic. Loaded with warming spices like ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cardamom along with floral notes from honey, rosebuds, and orange peel, this spice blend is an easy way to get complex flavor without much work on your end. Such an excellent flavor and it paired perfectly with sweet potatoes! Not only is this blend great on vegetables like sweet potatoes, eggplant, and squash, it also pairs well with lamb and chicken. Let’s get cooking!

Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves: 2

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

3 tbsp neutral cooking oil, like canola or grapeseed

Large pinch kosher salt

Large pinch cracked Spice Tribe Late Harvest Black Peppercorns

2 tsp Spice Tribe Marrakesh Sitar Spice Blend

Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tsp ginger root, grated (see note)

3 small green onions, thinly sliced

Small handful parsley, chopped

Granulated garlic, to taste

Kosher salt, to taste

Cracked Spice Tribe Late Harvest Black Peppercorns, to taste

Spice Tribe Marrakesh Sitar Spice Blend, to taste

Note: you can grate a small knob of fresh ginger root by peeling it (using a spoon is a quick and safe way to scrape and remove the skin) and grating on a zester or microplane. When I’m out of fresh ginger, sometimes I like using jarred grated ginger for an easy substitute. The Ginger People make a great kind that lasts forever in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, toss together the sweet potato wedges, cooking oil, kosher salt, cracked black pepper, and Marrakesh Sitar spice blend. Make sure the sweet potatoes are fully seasoned and coated with the spice mixture. Lay out the sweet potatoes in a single layer on a lined sheet pan (with either aluminum foil or a silicone baking mat) and roast for 25 minutes.

While the sweet potatoes are roasting, make the dipping sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, minced ginger, green onions, and chopped parsley. Season to taste with kosher salt, cracked black pepper, and Marrakesh Sitar spice blend. Adjust the seasoning to your liking and set aside in the fridge.

Once the 25 minutes has passed for the sweet potatoes, rotate the pan, and spray them with a nonstick cooking spray (I used avocado oil) and crank heat up to 450°F. Roast another 10 minutes to crisp.

To serve, sprinkle a little more of the Marrakesh Sitar blend and fresh cracked black pepper on top of the roasted sweet potato wedges and a dollop of the dipping sauce for each person.

¡Buen provecho!