A word of advice: don’t get between me and a roast sweet potato, particularly the ‘old-fashioned’ white or purple variety. And this is one of my favourite ways to enjoy them. Before you finish this book (and I do hope you’ll stick with me on this) I’ll have you loving kale, I promise; the only proviso is to make sure it’s fresh and vibrant when you buy or pick it.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons rock salt
- 2 small purple, orange or white sweet potatoes, about 250 g each, unpeeled and scrubbed
- 100 g labneh
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 2 tablespoons dukkah
- Purple or green basil leaves, to serve
Kale Pesto
- ½ bunch kale (about 110 g), leaves stripped, stalks discarded
- 0.33 cup (25 g) finely grated parmesan
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts or walnuts
- 15 g basil leaves
- 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt flakes
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (fan-forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Place 1 heaped tablespoon rock salt under each sweet potato on the lined tray. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork so steam can escape during cooking. Bake for 30–50 minutes or until golden, cooked through and soft. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, to make the pesto, drop the kale into a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water and simmer for 1 minute. Drain and cool, then squeeze out as much water as possible. Coarsely chop and place in a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Pulse together leaving some texture, then adjust the seasoning.
- Place the labneh in a bowl, then stir in the olive oil and season to taste.
- Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthways and place on serving plates. Squash down lightly with the back of a fork, then top with a generous amount of pesto, labneh and dukkah. Scatter with the basil leaves and finish with a final flourish of olive oil.
