A sweet little potato bake

February 28, 2014

While Michael was in Sydney I subsisted largely on leftovers and scones (not to mention terrible TV - I'd vowed to save up True Detective for his return). But I made sure to buy some fresh vegetables on my way home and cook us something nice for Michael's dinnertime arrival on Friday.

I gave this simple sweet potato bake a go - it's the vegan variation on a recipe posted a couple of years ago on The Stone Soup. Sweet potato rounds are layered up and baked in a sauce of coconut cream and peanut butter, creating a rich casserole that smells of satay. The top-most layer of potatoes were crispy (make a wide, shallow bake for more of these!), while underneath was soft, starchy and very sweet. 

The recipe could do with a little more bite than the few chilli flakes I used - I like Jules' suggestion of adding a tablespoon of red curry paste - and we achieved it after baking by sprinkling over some savoury fried shallots. We finished the half-quantity described below that very night with a side of green salad, while talking over the top of True Detective about the week we'd had.

A sweet little potato bake
(slightly adapted from a recipe on The Stone Soup,
where a dairy-laden version is credited to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)

165mL (small) can coconut cream
70g (~3 tablespoons) crunchy peanut butter
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
generous pinch chilli flakes
500g sweet potato
salt and pepper

Preheat an oven to 180°C.

In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut cream and peanut butter. Stir in the garlic and chilli flakes, plus salt and pepper.

Trim any bits you don't want to eat off the sweet potato, and slice the rest of it into thin rounds. Layer the rounds in a small baking tray, intermittently pouring in portions of the peanut-coconut mixture as you go.

Cover the baking tray with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 20-30 minutes, until the sweet potato is cooked through and brown on top.