I took Monday off from posting to celebrate Victoria Day. This Canadian holiday marks the unofficial start of summer. I’m excited about all the sunny days ahead!

Something else I am very excited about though is today’s recipe. I have only ever had regular sweet potatoes (orange inside), so I was looking forward to expanding my horizons in the potato world. These potatoes get roasted and then topped with a blended herb sauce. It all sounds so bright and fresh.

Let’s start with the potato. Unfortunately, I could not find Japanese sweet potatoes at my local store but I saw Caribbean ones and they looked pretty similar (purple outside, white inside). I guess you could even just use regular sweet potatoes or even a russet baking potato. Whichever potato you use, it’s just the base for the delicious herb sauce. Anyway, it gets roasted in the oven for about 1 hour, you want them to be super soft and fork-tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, that’s when you prepare the sauce – not that it takes so long to make. It’s made in the food processor so it’s super easy. It contains cilantro, mint, green onion, ginger, jalapeno, lemon juice, rice vinegar, salt and olive oil. It is sort of a cross between a pesto and chimichurri sauce.

Once the potatoes are cooked, you cut them open and then spoon on some of the sauce. I also topped them with a little extra cilantro and green onion. I’ll be honest, they don’t look super appealing but it smelled amazing so I knew it would taste good.

Classic baked potatoes with sour cream and cheese are good, but this herby twist is delicious. The potatoes are so fluffy and sweet, which pairs nicely with all the herbs in the sauce. I also like the slight kick from the fresh ginger and jalapeno. It was super fresh and perfect for summer with the bright green colour.