(Serves 4)
Vegan Nishi Sweet Potato with Black eye Peas and Herb smash
This vegetarian winner has three complementary components, the great thing about this recipe is that each bit can be made and stored for 2-3 days and they all go really well with other things, the herb smash is a great companion to boiled potatoes, the sweet potato can be served with grilled mackerel or salmon and the black eye beans can be served with salad leaves, avocado and a soft boiled egg in a lunch box.
Make the Nishi Sweet potato
Ingredients:
- 4 small sweet potatoes
- 6 big tbsp Vita Coco Coconut Oil
- 3 cloves garlic sliced thinly
- 3 tsp 5 spice
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 3 tbsp agave
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- sea salt
What you need:
Oven - 180c fan - 1 baking tray lined with a sheet of baking paper - tinfoil
Method:
- Prick the sweet potatoes, either place in a bowl and cover with cling film and microwave for 10 minutes - or wrap tightly in the tinfoil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. The goal here is to soften the sweet potato all the way through.
- While this is happening heat 2 tbsp of coconut oil in a small pan on the hob, when the oil if liquid and hot, add the garlic and turn down the heat so the garlic slices cook slowly until it turns a light blonde colour, at this point add the agave, soy, vinegar and 5 spice, simmer for 3 mins until a soft syrup has been formed, set aside.
- Pull your sweet potatoes out of the oven, unwrap from the foil/ film, check for softness, then slit open lengthways using a blunt knife creating a mushy V all the way along the ridge of the sweet potato, carefully stuff each ridge full of lots and lots of coconut butter, get it deep into the orange flesh, rub it over the skin sprinkle the whole lot with salt and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Pull out and they should be golden brown, inside the mushy V there should be lots of crispy orange sweet potato.
- Now spoon on the soy/spice sauce about 2 tbsp for each one, return to the oven and bake for 7 mins more until completely caramelised.
Make the Black Eye Peas
Ingredients:
- 250g Black Eye Peas
- 1 red onions blitzed
- 2 chillies blitzed
- 4 cloves garlic blitzed
- 2 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 600 ml water
- salt and black pepper
- 40 ml olive oil
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
Method:
Heat the oil on a medium heat, add the beans, fry for 7 mins, add the onion, chilli, garlic, ginger, rosemary and thyme.
Fry for 15 mins until the onions have completely sweated down, when you smell the pan it should smell like caramelising onions, now raw ones.
Add the salt and pepper, and the vinegar. Stir in for 30 seconds.
Add the water, boil for 35-45 mins until completely soft, drain but save the water. Return the water to the hob and reduce until it's just a couple of tbsp of syrup, pour back over the beans.
While everything else is boiling and roasting - make the herb smash
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 bunch of coriander
- 4 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes,
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper,
- 2 sprigs worth of thyme fronds
- 1/2 tsp agave
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Method:
- On a big chopping board chop the herbs finely.
- Then add all the other ingredients and chop them in - a bit like if you were making steak tartare like an old french chef.
- Using the side of the knife press and scrape the herb smash to mash it slightly and pull it all together into a rough paste.
Serving:
Serve the whole lot on the coconuty oil baking tray the sweet potatoes were cooked on, toss the black beans through the caramelised sauce on the tray, nestle the sweet potatoes into the black eye beans and split the herb smash' between the potato and beans like a joint custody battle, every element get's a little bit but isn't smothered by it.
This recipe was created by Karma Cans in collaboration with Vita Coco Coconut Oil. To celebrate National Fast Food Day, with every Karma Cans order this week you'll receive the recipe to recreate at home along with a sample of Vita Coco Coconut Oil