Sweet Potato Falafel

This is a "Leon" Restaurant Classic!  I love falafel but have never been able to make them at home-they were a staple for me when I was travelling in Sudan, I became so reliant on them as a vegan food source that I was eating them hot off the street with Granny's marmalde for breakfast.  Thankfully I have come a long way since then!  These are heavenly with hummus and chopped tomatoes.  They are also vegan and gluten free.

2 medium sweet potato-orange inside.
1 1/2 tsp ground cummin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 small cloves of garlic-chopped
2 big handfuls of coriander-chopped
juice of half a lemon
120g gram flour
a splash of olive oil
a sprinkling of sesame seeds
salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees C or gas mark 7 and roast the sweet potatoes whole until just tender (about 45 mins-1 hour).  Turn off the oven and leave the sweet potatoes to cool, then peel.  Put the sweet potatoes, cummin, garlic, ground and fresh coriander, lemon juice and gram flour into a large bowl.  Season well and mash with your hands - or a potato masher-until you have a smooth mix with no large lumps.  Stick in the fridge to firm up for an hour.  When you take it out your mix should be sticky rather than really wet and you can add more gram flour if necessary.
Heat the oven back up to 200 degrees C/gas mark 6.
Using a couple of soup spoons (put a well-heaped spoonful of mix in one spoon and use the concave side of the other to shape the sides), make the mixture into falafelly-looking things and put them on an oiled tray.  Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake in the oven for 15 or so mins until the bases are golden brown.

Sweet potato puree with tamari, maple syrup and chilli

This is a recipe from Skye Gyngell-my go to when I need something a bit different and a bit of inspiration.  My version is adapted to make it vegan, though if you want to can add lashings of butter.  I made this for a lunch party yesterday, we sat under the grape vines on the verhanda with a cold lunch.
This is a sweety, punch almost velvety tasting puree.
For 4:
2 large orange sweet potatoes
1 small red chilli-halved
sea slat and black pepper
small bunch of washed coriander
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp tamari-or soy sauce
2 tbsp maple syrup

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into  rough chunks, then place in a sauce pan and add the chilli.  Pour in enough cold water to cover and add a good pinch of salt, and bring to the boil over a medium heat.
Lower the heat and simmer for about 15-20 mins until the sweet potato is really tender and falling apart.   Drain in a colander.

Tip the sweet potato and chilli into the blender.  Add the coriander leaves and stems, olive oil (and 50g butter if using), tamari and maple syrup and puree until very smooth.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.  The puree should have a deep, sweet, hot, velvety taste.

*as a rule of thumb, all vegetables that gro below the ground go in to cold water and all vegetables that grow above ground go into boiling water.

Sweet potato and peanut stew

I am in the Mara and on the menu board was sweet potato and peanut stew-both chefs came to me and said they did not know how to make it.  I have never made it before either but I liked the sound of it!  So here is our attempt-I tihnk its yummy!

4 smallish sweet potatoes-boiled in their skins until tender, chopped into 1 pound coin size
1 tin red kidney beans
2 onions
1 large piece fresh ginger-the size of your thumb
1 fresh red chili
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cups veg stock
2 large/heaped tbsp of peanut butter
1 lime-grated and juice of
a handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 tin tomatoes-or if you have fresh -4 large toms with skins removed and finely chopped

Chop the onion, chili and ginger, fry off in olive oil until soft, add the spices and stir well.  Add the tomatoes, kidney beans, the chopped sweet potato, the stock.  Bring to simmer. Add the peanut butter stirring well until you have a smooth sauce.  Simmer until thick-only a few minutes.  Add the lime zest and juice to cut through the peanut butter!
Serve with a handful of fresh coriander and a wedge of lime.  

101 cook books-sweet potato recipe

I found this on 101 cookbooks and love sweet potato-we only get the white ones here but if you can find the lovely orange ones use those!

If you'd like to prepare part of this recipe in advance you can certainly bake the sweet potatoes a day or two in advance and save the mashed sweet potatoes in the refrigerator until you are ready to move forward with the remaining steps. Also, you can make these vegan by using olive oil and not butter.

2 1/2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 cup raw, unsweetened grated coconut
2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
1/3 cup toasted macadamia nuts, chopped

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, a rack in the upper third. Butter or oil 6 ramekins or a single medium-sized casserole dish.

Wrap each sweet potato in foil, pierce numerous times with the tines of a fork and place in the oven for somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half, until each is baked through. Times vary greatly depending on the size of your sweet potatoes - in the end you should be able to cut through the center flesh as if it were soft butter. Remove the potatoes from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes, and cut each sweet potato in half. Scrape the flesh into a medium mixing bowl. You should have about three cups of sweet potatoes. In a large bowl mash the sweet potatoes with the coconut milk. If my sweet potatoes are on the fibrous side, l take a hand blender to them for a minute or so (alternately you could use a food processor). Stir in the ginger, maple syrup and salt. Let it sit for a few minutes, stir again and taste - adjust the seasoning if you need to - this is your chance to get the right amount of salt and ginger in the sweet potatoes before they go in the oven.

Spoon the sweet potato mixture into individual baking dishes (or single larger baking dish), sprinkle with coconut, drizzle with olive oil and bake uncovered until warm and the coconut golden roughly 30 - 40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the toasted macadamia nuts.

Serves about 6.

Griddled sweet potato with ginger, chilli and lime

You might have noticed that ginger, chilli and limes feature frequently in my recipies.  I love the combination of them!
4 medium sized sweet potatoes
200 ml extra virgin olive oil

For the dressing:
5 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp runny honey
4 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves-crushed
salt and black pepper

Peel the sweet potatoes, and cut into thin slices, about 3 mm thick.  Blanch the slices in boiling water for a couple of minutes.  Drain them and allow to dry.  Put the slices in a bowl and smother with the olive oil.
Heat the griddle pan and cook the potato slices for 3-4 minutes on each side-it is quicker to put the whole lot in a baking tray under the grill-but you dont get the pretty stripes!
Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together and drizzle over the sweet potatoes while still warm.  This is yummy hot or cold!