Charred Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Bone Marrow and Salsita
This recipe is from My Mexico Kitchen by Gabriela Camara.
Preheat oven to 425°
½ cup sea salt
2 or 3 large orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
4 pasture-raised beef femur bones, split lengthwise
Salsita Salsa Macha or Salsa Guey
Warmed tortillas for serving
Lime wedges
Sprinkle ¼ cup of the sea salt on a plate. Wash the sweet potatoes well. While their skins are wet, roll them in the sea salt so they are as encrusted with salt as possible. Place them on a baking sheet, prick each one a few times with a fork, and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until tender. Remove from the oven and let them cool while you roast your bones.
Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup salt across the cut surfaces of the bones. It may seem like a lot, but this salt is what will bring out the meaty flavor of the roasting marrow. Roast the bones in the oven for 20 minutes, until well browned.
In the last 5 minutes before the bones come out of the oven, char the skin of each of your roasted sweet potatoes, holding them with tongs directly over the flame of your stove top burner and rotating them to char as much of the surface area as possible. You could also do this by placing the sweet potatoes directly on the coals of a grill. The goal is for the skins to get really blackened, but if you can't do this at home (if you have an electric stove, for example), this dish will still taste great even without the char.
Split the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and place half on each plate, along with one roasted bone half. Place bowls of salsa on the table and pass a basket of warm tortillas so guests can scoop out the bone marrow, spread some on their tortilla, and top with a dollop of sweet potato and salsa. A few slivers of onion soaked in lime juice add a delightful crunch and tang, in contrast to the potato's sweetness, and a squeeze of lime unites the flavors.
Buen provecho!