Hey guys, welcome back for another culinary session, this month is all about sweet potatoes. Just a quick update from down at the bistro, we have started our new menu and so far have had a lot of positive feedback so I would like to thank you all for that. If you haven’t had a chance to come on down yet for a sample, then be sure you do. We are also in the process to launch our delivery business so you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home to enjoy our delicious offerings, stay tuned. Back to the humble sweet potato – the sweet potato’s biggest claim to fame is vitamin A, but in fact this isn’t such a big deal, because the vitamin A in sweet potatoes is locked up in plant form called beta-carotene, which is only inefficiently converted to true vitamin A. Better sources of vitamin A include meat especially liver and eggs.
What’s more impressive about sweet potatoes is their high content of other nutrients. They’re full of Vitamin C, B3, B5, and B6, manganese, potassium, and copper; they’re also high in fibre. Most people have no need to worry about this, but anyone following the autoimmune protocol should also know that sweet potatoes are completely okay because they’re botanically unrelated to white potatoes (which are out on the autoimmune protocol because they’re nightshades).
The various colours of sweet potatoes also indicate the variety of antioxidants they contain. The orange ones get their colour from the beta-carotene, but the purple kind have a different type of antioxidants called anthocyanins. Unlike other anthocyanin-containing foods, like eggplant or blueberries, sweet potatoes have these antioxidants in the flesh as well as the skin, so they’re a much more concentrated source.
As usual with nutrient-dense foods, you’ll get the most out of all this good stuff if you eat your sweet potatoes with some fat: this helps you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins, and also makes the drier varieties a lot tastier.
Hence the reason why this awesome food features so heavily amongst all the menus I create. For this menu, I’ve created a satisfying sweet potato and smoked fish hash cake with orange and cayenne pepper hollandaise, poached eggs and tarragon. Although the sauce is quite difficult to make I’ve put in a simple way for you to do it at home without too much of a hitch to mess it up.
Sweet Potato and Smoked Fish Hash Cake
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato (preferably orange flesh)
- Smoked white fish
- Tarragon
- Salt and pepper
Procedure
Clean your potato and roast it whole, once it is cooked scoop out the centre and combine this with the smoked fish. Season with salt and pepper and cool, once chilled add chopped tarragon and form into desired sizes. Seal them up in a hot pan with a lot of extra virgin olive to a get a nice, golden brown colour.
Orange and Cayenne Hollandaise
Ingredients
- 6 egg yolks
- 500gm ghee
- White vinegar
- Zest of one large orange
- Half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Procedure
In a blender, whizz your egg yolks and a splash of vinegar. Melt down your ghee making sure that it isn’t too hot as it will cause your sauce to split; room temperature is best. Whilst the eggs are blending away, slowly drizzle in your ghee. You will start to see your sauce begin to thicken. Add a dash of water if it becomes too thick. Once the sauce is done, remove from the blender and season with salt, pepper, orange zest and your cayenne. Balance out your flavours of the sauce to compliment your hash cakes.
Words + Recipe By: Chef Patrick Ikinofo
