What spices go with sweet potato

The most useful thing to know about sweet potato is that it wants a savoury earthy note rather than more sweetness, and cumin is the clearest example. It sits against the sugar rather than reinforcing it, which is why cumin-roasted sweet potato tastes balanced where a cinnamon-roasted one tastes like pudding.

How: Tossed with oil and cumin before roasting; In a spiced sweet potato curry

Add alongside: Paprika, Coriander seed, Chilli flakes

Smoked paprika in particular, which supplies a savoury smokiness sweet potato has no way of generating itself. The colour also helps: roast sweet potato is already orange, and paprika deepens it rather than muddying it as most spices would.

How: Smoked pimentón on roast wedges; In a sweet potato and chickpea stew

Add alongside: Cumin, Garlic, Cayenne pepper

• Add it with the oil rather than to a hot dry tray; paprika scorches and turns bitter above a moderate heat.

The sweet direction, and it is a legitimate one rather than merely an American habit — sweet potato with warm baking spice is a genuine tradition and it is the same logic as pumpkin pie. The risk is that it doubles down on sweetness, so it wants salt or a sharp element alongside.

How: In a sweet potato casserole or pie; With butter and warm spice as a side

Add alongside: Nutmeg, Ginger, Pumpkin spice

Heat against sweetness is one of the most reliable pairings there is, and sweet potato is sweet enough to take a good deal of it. Chilli also gives the dish somewhere to go: a plain roast sweet potato is one-note in a way few vegetables are.

How: On roast wedges with lime; In a sweet potato and coconut curry

Add alongside: Cumin, Lemon, Garlic

Sweet potato is sweet and dense and needs something warm and pungent rather than merely hot. The floral citric side of grains of paradise cuts the sugar where black pepper would only sharpen it.

How: Ground over roast sweet potato wedges; In a rub with cumin and paprika

Add alongside: Paprika, Cumin, Ginger