Lentil and sweet potato curry

Ingredients

• 100ml olive oil
• 2 spanish onions, finely sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 6 cardamom pods
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 small eggplant, peeled, cut into small cubes and salted for 30 minutes
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1 litre water
• 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1 handful coriander leaves

Method

Heat olive oil in a saucepan and cook seasoned onions, garlic and ginger until soft - about 15 minutes.

Add spices and cook 2 minutes. Wash and drain eggplant, add to onions and cook 5 minutes. Add lentils, sweet potato and water and simmer gently until cooked - about 20 minutes. Add broccoli and simmer 5 minutes. Stir through baby spinach.

Serve with coriander, natural yoghurt and your favourite chutney.

Sweet potato burgers

oil spray
1 oinon chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1/2 bunch kale, stems and stalks removed, coarsely chopped (about 5 cups)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1.5 tsp salt-free Cajum seasoning blend
1/4 tsp salt
2 medium sweet potatoes (about 460g) peeled grated
130g dried black beans, soaked overnight and boiled for about 45 mins, or until tender, drained
115g firm tofu, patted dry
2 tbsp polenta
3 tsp olive oil

1. Spray a large non stick frypan with cooking oil spray and heat over a medium heat. Add oinon, capsicum and clerey and cook for 8 mins, stirring, or until softened. Stir in kale, garlic, cajun seasoning and salt. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring or until kale wilts. Add sweet potato and cook for 10 mins, stirring or until softened. Set aside.
2. Combine black beans and tofu in a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher until smooth. Add potato mix and stir until well combined. Refrigerate for 30 mins to set.
3. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of polenta on a plate. Pack burger mix ina 1/2 cup measure and turn onto the plate. Press to form an 8cm thick patty. Set aside. Repeat to make 8 patties. Sprinkle with remaining polenta.
4. Cook in frying pan 4 at a time for 10 mins turning once or until hot and browned.

Sweet potato crisps with avocado and garlic mayonaise

1 avacodo, halved stone removed
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup whole egg mayo
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled
veg oil for deep frying

1. Roughly chop avocado, flesh and put ina medium shallow dish with lemon juice. Mash until smooth. Add mayo garlic and parsley. Stir until combined.
2. Using a vegie peeler, run blad down lenthe of sweet potato, to form ribbons. Pour oil into a pan until 1/3 full and set over a high heat. When oil is hot, reduce temperature to medium. Add sweet potato 5-6 pieces at a time and cook for 2-3 mins or until crips. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining sweet potato. Serve with mayonaise.

Sweet potato fritters with snow pea and almond salad

500g sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 brown oinon, grated
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup plain flour
salt and pepper to season
1/3 cup flaked almonds
1 tbsp olive oil
4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely shredded
200g snow peas, trimmed, shredded

1. put sweet potato and oinon in a colander. Using your hands, squeeze as much liquid as possible from mixture then put in a mixing bowl. Add parmesan, oil and flour and season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
2. Preheat oven to 160C. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a med heat. Drop 1/4 capfuls of sweet potato mixture into pan and cook, 3-4 at a time, for 4 mins on each side or until golden and crips. Transfer to an oven tray and put in teh oven to keep warm. Cook remaining fritters and transfer to oven.
3. Add almonds to clean pan and cook for 6 mins or until golden. Transfer to a bowl. Heat oil in pan, add ginger and cook for 2 mins or until soft. Add snow pea and stir until well combined. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until snow pea is just tender. Divide fritters between serving plates, top with snow pea salad and sprinkle over almonds.

Roasted sweet potato with egg noodles

500g sweet potato, peeled and chopped
10cm piece ginger, shredded
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp peanut oil
100ml kecap manis
extra 1 tbsp peanut oil
extra 1 tsp sesame oil
350g fresh egg noodles

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Place sweet potato and ginger into an ovenproof dish. Place sesame oil, peanut oil and kecap manis in a bowl, pour it over the sweet potato and toss through to coat. Cook for 40 mins or unti sweet potato is tender.
2. Heat the extra peanut oil, in a pan and add the extra sesame oil and the noodles and toss to combine. Cook for 1-2 mins. Serve with roasted sweet potato on top of the noodles.

Roast sweet potato and chilli salad

1 kg of sweet potato
3 long red chillies
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
100g greek feta
1/2 cup mint leaves, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Peel sweet potato and roughly chop into 5cm pieces. Cut chillies in half lengthways. Put sweet potato and chillies in a bowl and toss with 1 tbsp oil. Season and spread on a baking tray. Roast for 35-40 mintues or until golden.
2. Combine remaining old and vinegar, season. Put sweet potato and chilli on a platter and top with crumbled feta and mint. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

Tunisian Brik

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 2 dried red chillies
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus a little extra
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 large free-range or organic egg, beaten
150g butter
• 6 sheets of filo pastry
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• a bunch of fresh watercress
• a bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked
• a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
• 4 tablespoons natural yoghurt
• 3 lemons, 1 juiced, 2 cut in half
• extra virgin olive oil
• a pinch of ground cumin

snacks and sides | serves 4
This is my twist on a North African classic. Filo pastry is cheap and fun to play with - just remember to work quickly with it before the sheets starts to dry out.

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Wash the sweet potatoes and bake them, in their skins, in the preheated oven until cooked and soft. Allow to cool (leaving the oven on), then peel and mash them.

Bash up 1 teaspoon of the coriander seeds and the chillies in a pestle and mortar. Stir with the cinnamon into the mashed sweet potato and season well. Fold the spring onions and beaten egg into the mashed potato.

Gently melt the butter in a pan. Bash up the remaining coriander seeds. Brush a sheet of filo with some melted butter and sprinkle with a pinch of ground cinnamon and a little of the ground coriander. Cover with the second sheet, and brush and sprinkle as before. Repeat for the third sheet. With a sharp knife, cut the stacked filo sheets into two 15cm squares.

Working quickly to prevent the pastry from drying, do the same with the remaining filo sheets. You should now have four squares of filo. Place a generous tablespoon of the sweet potato mixture in the centre of each square and spread out slightly. Brush the edges of each square with water and fold in half, corner to corner, to make a triangle. Press down at the edges to seal. Brush both sides of each triangle with the rest of the melted butter, place on a baking tray and bake in the preheated oven until light brown - this will take about 10 minutes.

Mix the red onion with the watercress, mint and parsley. Mix the yogurt with the lemon juice, a glug of olive oil and the cumin. Dress the salad with the yoghurt dressing and serve with the hot filo briks and the lemon halves.

Note we have made this with filo and puff pastry and puff pastry works better for us.