I try to look closely at the small baskets in the produce section to find unique veggies and found a sign for batatas – or Mexican sweet potato:

It looked pretty harmless and if potato is in the name, I know it is likely a safe bet for me 😀  I thought it looked a good bit like a small yam.  Apparently these are quite common in the Caribbean.

I was very surprised to see that the flesh was white when I peeled it.

I just assumed it would be orange.  Note that it started to brown up when exposed to the air, which was interesting.  It smelled like a sweet potato, though.  I chopped it up and stirfried it with some chicken, broccoli, teriyaki sauce and serrano peppers.

The pieces of batata were firm and had a texture fairly potato-like, but the flavor was sweeter and almost tasted like chestnuts.  Should have roasted it on the open fire, no?

I liked the small size of this.  Perfect for a single serving.  I would try this again – I think it would make excellent fries!