Ras El Hanout Sweet Potato Bark

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Winter is here, snow has blanketed the mountains near me with wonderful white powder. It is time for snowshoes, mittens and hot cocoa.

I have spent the last couple weekends at home working on writing projects and deep cleaning some long neglected rooms of the house. The weather has been fickle and it was an excuse to stay close to home and knock things off the to-do list. It has been hard to focus on anything for long and the weight of unfinished commitments has been heavy.

My mood this time of year is usually mixed: mourning the loss of high altitude summer sunsets and yet anticipation for peaceful solitude plowing through snowy slopes. It felt like I didn’t quite get my fill the last six months.

As I was looking through photos and gleaning details from this summer’s adventures, I realized that despite “2020” hanging over the year like Mayhem from the Allstate commercials I actually did manage to get outdoors quite a bit. Just searching for photos to go with this recipe involved 4 hikes alone!

I may not be heading into the hills for extended periods of time until next year but I have plenty of memories of my time on trails and swinging in my hammock to tide me over. I’ll quit with my pity party now and be grateful for all the fun I did have this year.

#sweetpotatoes #raselhanout #almondslivers #pumpkinseeds #redonion #coconutshreds

Sweet potato bark is one of the simplest snacks to make for the trail! You can enjoy it straight or fancied up. This recipe employs one of my favorite spice combinations, Ras El Hanout, along with a selection of toppings from coconut shreds to seeds to dry red onion. Ras El Hanout is an all-purpose Middle Eastern spice blend used like curry, five spice, garam masala, jerk seasoning, berbere, barahat or even Johnny’s/Lawry’s seasoning salt (albeit not the same flavors). That spice you grab for first when you just need a little somethin’, somethin’.

Typically found in Tunisia, Algeria and Morroco, “ras el hanout’ means “head of the shop” and implies you are getting the best spices a shop might have to offer. Some longtime family recipe blends might contain over a dozen different spices and combinations depending on the region it comes from. Salt is not a normal addition to ras el hanout but you will find it in this version, feel free to omit if you are limiting your salt intake.

I first heard of version of ras el hanout that comes from one of favorite paleo recipe developers, Melissa at Well Fed. Feel free to play around with portions or leave out a few if you are autoimmune protocol or nightshade free. She originally uses black and cayenne pepper which I don’t. I sometimes use 1 whole tablespoon of cumin when I have ground some fresh instead of just 2 teaspoons. Feel free to experiment with your own combination!

Once you make a batch of ras el hanout, you will find yourself sprinkling it on EVERYTHING. Salmon, chicken, vegetables, you name it. I even gave it away as Christmas presents one year.

For sweet potato bark, you really have just the two ingredients: sweet potato and spice. For fun, I sprinkled different toppings on while it was drying, like coconut, seeds and red onion. It gave me a little variety while out on the trail.

Now, you may find other recipes out there that add a little apple juice and I have some where I added coconut milk to the potatoes. These are all options, as well. But if you are in need of something without the added sugar (apple juice is really just liquid sugar) or that will last a much longer without refrigeration (coconut milk has fat that can taste off over time), this bark is what you are really looking for.

And the benefit of sweet potato bark is that you can eat it as a snack but it is also possible to rehydrate it back into mashed potatoes! You will just want to break it up into the smallest pieces you can (if on trail) before adding enough hot water to cover and let sit. This make a tasty porridge for any time of the day.

When spreading the sweet potatoes out on the trays, know that a thicker layer will produce a more flexible bark but take longer to dry. A thinner layer dries faster but creates a more brittle bark suitable for rehydrating. Your choice!

Ras El Hanout Sweet Potato Leather

Prep Time
15 minutes mins

Cook Time
20 minutes mins

Total Time
12-14 hours

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Gluten Free, Nightshade Free, Nut free, Vegan, Whole Food

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

Ras El Hanout

2 teaspoons salt level
2 teaspoons cumin heaping
2 teaspoons ginger level
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg slightly rounded

Sweet Potato Bark

5-6 medium sweet potatoes (makes about 4 cups mashed)
2 tablespoons ras el hanout heaping
almond slivers
dried red onion
coconut shreds
pumpkin seeds

Instructions

Mix all the spice ingredients in a small glass jar.
Wash with water, peel and cube the sweet potatoes.
Place the cubes in a large pot, cover with water and let come to boil on medium high. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low, cover with a lid and let simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft and can be pierced with a fork. Remove from heat and drain.
Add the sweet potatoes to a food processor and let cool about 5 minutes until they stop steaming.
Sprinkle with the ras el hanout and puree until smooth.
Spread out evenly on lined dehydrator trays (I use the plastic jelly roll liners) to ta thickness of about 1/4″. If you know you are going to rehydrate on the trail, you might want a little thinner. Sprinkle with toppings if desired.
Set the dehydrator to the fruit/vegetable setting (125-135 degrees) and let dry for 12-14 hours.
Check near the end of the time and flip the sweet potato sheet over if possible. Let dry a few more hours until completely dry but flexible. There should not be any tacky spots.
Let cool completely and then break into pieces. Store in an airtight container until ready to eat. Enjoy!