SWEET POTATO AND ONION GRATIN

250 g sweet potato, peeled
3 large onions
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 sprigs rosemary, chopped
8-10 fresh sage leaves, chopped
Handful of parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

Preheat over to 180°C/ 350°F/ Gas Mark 4. Place the oil into a pan and cook the onion until soft and brown. Add the garlic and sauté another 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and transfer the contents into a bowl. Cut the sweet potato into large chunks and grate (the grating blade of a food processor is easiest). Mix the sweet potato in with the onions. Add the rosemary and mix the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper before spreading the mixture into a shallow ovenproof dish. Drizzle some olive oil over the top of the mixture and cook for about one hour or until the top has browned. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the parsley on top.

SWEET POTATO DAPHINOISE

1 large potato (or 3 smaller ones), peeled and sliced very thinly
450 g sweet potato, peeled and slice very thinly
250 ml thickened cream
250 ml milk
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ Gas Mark 4. Pour the cream and milk into a heavy-based saucepan over moderate heat. Add the ordinary potato slices and the garlic to the pan and bring the cream to simmering point. Cook until the potato softens- about 5 minutes. Remove the potato with a slotted spoon and keep the liquid in reserve. Place a layer of sweet potato into the bottom of an ovenproof dish then top with a layer of regular potato and continue to repeat until dish is full. Season each layer well with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour over the milk and cream mixture, removing the garlic. Cover the dish with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes and then remove the foil. Continue baking a further 30 minutes until the top is golden brown.

SWEET POTATO MASALA

500 g sweet potatoes
10 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 whole dried chillies
1/4 teaspoon onion seeds
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 tsp sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Peel and chop the sweet potato into 1-inch chunks. Steam for 15 or so minutes or until very tender. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes into a microwave container with a cup of water to cover. Microwave for 2 minutes or until tender. Drain the tomatoes and reserve the tomato water. Heat a pan over high heat. Dry roast the whole chillies and onion seeds till they are aromatic and begin to darken. Some of the onion seeds should pop open. Add the garlic to the pan, lower heat and stir vigorously. Don't let garlic burn, but do let it darken. Add a couple of teaspoons of the tomato water. Add the turmeric, cumin, sugar, cayenne, and salt. Simmer the spice mixture for about a minute, adding more tomato water if necessary. Add the drained tomatoes and 1 cup of the tomato water (or whatever remains of it). Simmer 7-10 minutes, mashing the tomatoes occasionally. It should form a thick sauce. When the sweet potatoes are done, mash them thoroughly. Remove whole chillies from tomato sauce and add the sweet potato. Serve hot.

SWEET POTATO STEW

1 onion, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons groundnut oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 teaspoon grated fresh root ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
350 g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 tablespoons mild or medium curry paste
1/2 pint passata
1/2 pint vegetable stock
225 g spinach leaves, trimmed, roughly shredded
225 g mushrooms, cut into halves or quarter if large
4 tablepsoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
Salt and pepper
Coriander sprigs to garnish

Heat 3/4 of the oil in a saucepan, add the onions, garlic, ginger and cayenne and fry gently for 10 minutes. Add the curry paste to the onion mixture and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the sweet potatoes, stir to coat evenly in the mixture. Fry for about 3-4 minutes. Add the passata and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes start to become tender.
Heat the remaining oil in a fry pan, add the mushroom and stir-fry until they soften. Add the potatoes and the spinach and cool for another 5 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through. Mix a few spoonfuls of the stews juices with the peanut butter to soften it slightly, then stir into the pan. Add the coriander, season with salt and pepper to taste and heat through. Serve garnished with coriander sprigs, with rice.

TORTELLINI OR RAVIOLI IN SWEET POTATO SAUCE

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
240 ml milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
500 g fresh pasta, tortellini or ravioli is best
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté over medium-low heat until golden. Add the sweet potato and just enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender. Transfer the mixture from the saucepan, including the liquid, to a food processor. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and process until smoothly pureed. Transfer back to the saucepan and set aside, covered, off the heat. Cook the pasta in plenty of rapidly simmering water until al dente. Drain, then stir it into the sweet potato sauce. Heat gently and briefly, just until well heated through. Serve, garnishing each serving with some parsley, if desired.

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

60 ml fresh orange juice
60 ml light brown sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
1 tablespoons whipped butter, melted
500 g sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
50 g finely chopped walnuts or pecans for topping, optional

Preheat the oven to 190°C/ 375°F/ Gas Mark 5. Combine all the ingredients except the last two in a large mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. Add the sliced potatoes and stir well, then transfer to a shallow baking dish. Bake, covered, until the sweet potatoes are just tender, about 40 minutes. Stir once or twice during that time to distribute the liquid over the potatoes. If desired, sprinkle the nuts over the sweet potatoes at this time. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until the glaze thickens. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

PEPPER AND SWEET POTATO SOUP

Delicious with crusty white bread. Try adding a dash of sour cream with the thyme garnish. Serves 3

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
350 g (12 oz) sweet potato, peeled and diced
750 ml (1/4 pt) vegetable stock
a few sprigs of thyme
1 large red pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion over a low heat for 5 minutes, or until they soften. Don’t let them brown. Add the garlic and sweet potato, stir, cover and leave for 5-10 minutes. Pour in the stock, add some of the thyme and bring it to the boil. Leave it to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked. Meanwhile, turn on the grill, cut the pepper in half and remove their seeds. Grill the outside of the pepper halves for about 15 minutes. Let them cool then peel off the skins, which will have blackened in places. Cut the pepper into pieces. By now you should have turned off the saucepan, so put the contents into a food processor, or blend them with a hand blender. Also blend in the chunks of red pepper. Then reheat the soup, and add lemon juice, salt and pepper, and a sprig of thyme as a garnish!

SWEET POTATO SOUP WITH CANDIED PECANS

This soup is always a hit! Serve as a starter, or a main meal with garlic bread, or wholemeal and butter. You can add more regular potatoes if short on the sweet. Makes 8 side servings

2 large onions, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
3 large carrots, sliced thinly
1 medium leek, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons butter
3 sweet potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise,
sliced thinly
1 large potato, peeled, halved lengthwise, slice thinly
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock plus extra for thinning the soup if needed
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon fresh
180 ml dry white wine
360 ml water
Salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot cook the onion, leek, garlic and carrots in the butter over medium heat, stirring, until the vegetables are softened. Add all potatoes, 1 litre of stock, wine, water, and herbs. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender. Discard the bay leaf. Purée the soup in a blender or processor until it is very smooth, then thin with the extra stock if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the soup among bowls and top each with a dollop of crème fraîche and some candied pecans.

SPICY CANDIED PECANS

1 teaspoon cold water - 1 egg white
400 g pecan halves
220 g sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt

Beat the water and egg until it is frothy. Mix well with the pecans. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, salt and chilli powder and mix with the pecans. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 110°C, 225°F, gas mark ¼ for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Cool and keep in airtight container for up to one week.

SWEET POTATO AND CELERY SOUP

This recipe is from Lyn Greenwood, one of our customers. We hope you enjoy it!

Two or three sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
About half to three quarters of that amount of celery, washed and chopped
Stock
Cream

Put the vegetables into the pan with and almost cover them with water or vegetable stock. Simmer the vegetables until they are soft, then allow them to cool before blitzing with a liquidizer. Serve hot or cold, add seasoning as required, and a swirl of cream for extra luxury.