Camote asado recipe: Johnny Curiel's roasted sweet potato

Camote asado is the one dish Johnny Curiel won't touch on the menu at Alma Fonda Fina, his Michelin-starred restaurant in Denver: a whole sweet potato roasted until it collapses, then rebuilt with whipped fresh cheese, a broken chile-and-peanut salsa, and toasted seeds for crunch.

Curiel, who grew up in Guadalajara before running the pass at Alma Fonda Fina and now Milpero, builds the dish on restraint: cool requesón, smoky salsa macha, and toasted seeds for the crunch a soft sweet potato needs.

This version keeps his structure at home-kitchen scale. For a similarly built plate, our grilled elote recipe runs on the same logic: one vegetable, several textures.

Scoop through the requesón at the bottom of the plate with every bite.

Ingredients

• 2 medium orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 3 tbsp agave nectar, divided
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and ground
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground, plus 1/4 tsp more for the seed mix
• 15 g dried morita chiles, stemmed
• 2 g dried chile piquín
• 4 tbsp raw peanuts, divided
• 1 tbsp white sesame seeds, plus 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
• 2 tsp piloncillo or dark brown sugar, finely grated
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp pepitas, toasted and crushed
• Flaky sea salt, to finish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C. Rub the sweet potatoes with 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp agave, salt and pepper, and roast whole for 45-55 minutes, until a knife meets no resistance; the slow roast is what turns the flesh custardy rather than merely soft.
2. Mix the ricotta with the fennel, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp agave and 1/2 tsp salt until smooth, then chill it: the cheese should be cold against the hot sweet potato, so the plate carries two temperatures at once.
3. Warm the chiles, 2 tbsp peanuts, white sesame seeds, garlic and remaining oil in a small pan over low heat for 6-8 minutes, until the garlic turns pale gold; pull it off the heat at once, or it will turn bitter.
4. Strain the solids from the oil and cool both completely. Pulse the solids coarse, not smooth, this is a broken salsa, not a purée, then stir back in 2 tbsp of the oil, the piloncillo, sesame oil, vinegar and 1/2 tsp salt.
5. Toast the pepitas, remaining 2 tbsp peanuts and black sesame seeds until fragrant, crush roughly, and mix with the remaining 1/4 tsp cumin and a pinch of salt.
6. Split the sweet potatoes open over the ricotta on a plate, spoon over the salsa macha, scatter the seed mix, and finish with flaky salt and the last of the agave.

Why the plate holds together

The trick at Curiel's restaurants is to scoop each bite through the requesón at the base of the plate, so the cold cheese and warm sweet potato arrive together. Leftover salsa macha keeps a week in the fridge and is worth having on hand for eggs, grilled vegetables or plain rice.

Can I make camote asado ahead? Yes: roast the sweet potatoes, whip the requesón and make the salsa macha up to a day ahead, then assemble the plate just before serving.