Honey-cinnamon roasted sweet potato
Halved sweet potatoes brushed with honey and cinnamon and roasted until caramelised outside and soft within — the whole kitchen smells warm and cosy.
- 50 min
- Serves 2
- Roast
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yang Deficiency means feeling the cold more than most, and as Frost's Descent brings chilly mornings and evenings, hands and feet go cold and you crave warm food. In-season sweet potato is sweet and supports digestion, and a little cinnamon warms yang — hot from the oven, it warms both hands and stomach.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 40 min- 1Heat the oven to 200°C. Scrub the sweet potatoes, halve them lengthways with the skin on and prick the cut sides a few times with a fork.
- 2Mix the melted butter with the honey, cinnamon and salt, and brush over the cut sides.
- 3Roast cut side up for 35–40 minutes, brushing with the glaze again halfway, until a chopstick slides in easily and the tops are caramelised. Cool slightly before eating — the skin is edible too.
Cautions
- Cinnamon is hot — leave it out if you have a sore throat or spots, or during pregnancy. Sweet potato can cause bloating, so half to one per person is enough.
Chef's tips
- Long, slim sweet potatoes cook faster. No oven? Air-fry at 180°C for about 25 minutes.
The TCM view
Sweet potato is sweet and neutral, tonifying the middle, building qi and keeping the bowels moving. Cinnamon is pungent, sweet and very hot, warming yang and dispelling cold — a little goes a long way. Honey is sweet and neutral, moistening dryness and tempering the cinnamon's heat. Warm and sweet overall, it warms yang and supports digestion without overheating.
