Recipe courtesy of Chef Tre Ghoshal at Market in Montclair, NJ. Chef suggests to pair this vegetable dish with Malabar Crab Cakes.
5 lbs garnet yams or other sweet potato
3 tbsp light olive oil
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. each salt and pepper, or to taste
Pomegranite Ketchup
2 cups pomegranite molasses
2 cups tomato ketchup
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
In a mixing bowl, add the ketchup and pomegranite mollasses and whisk thoroughly to combine. Pour into a serving dish and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Begin by making the sweet potatoes. In a large mixing bowl, add oil and spices and whisk to combine. Peel and cut potatoes into 1/2 inch wedges. Toss the potatoes in the oil and spices and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast the wedges for about 30 minutes or until browned on the outside and soft in the middle.
While the wedges are in the oven, make the crab cakes. Heat 1 tbsp. canola oil on medium heat. Add the diced vegetables and saute for 3-4 minutes or until translucent. Transfer to a mixing bowl and place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to cool.
In a seperate mixing bowl, combine the mayonaise, curry powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and whisk until incorporated. In a another mixing bowl, fold the crab meat and bread crumbs together, but do not over mix. Finally, add the chilled vegetable mixture to the crab mixture, and carefully fold in the mayonaise mixture. Using a soup spoon, portion crab mixture into 2 oz. flat patties.
Melt 1tbsp. of the butter in a large saute pan on medium-high heat and add half of the crab cake sliders. Pan sear for 1 or 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned, then transfer to a baking sheet. Melt the other tablespoon of butter and saute the remaining of the crab cakes until browned. Transfer those to the baking sheet and place in the oven for 5 or 6 minutes.
While the crab cakes are in the oven, make the aioli. Combine all the ingredients for the aioli, and whisk until well blended.
Take out the sweet potatoes and transfer to a large platter. Sprinkle with a little extra salt and pepper to taste.
Finally, assemble the sliders. Cut each bun in half, and working in batches, warm them in the oven for about a minute. Assemble half of the buns on a large seving platter and spread a little aioli on the open side. Add a large pinch of the julienned vegetables.
When the crab cakes are finished baking, take them out of the oven and add one crab cake to the partially assembled buns. Top the sliders with the remaining half of the buns. Spear each slider with a bamboo pick. Serve sliders alongside sweet potato wedges and pomegranite ketchup immediately.