Yet another obsession. Sweet potatoes. One wintery and cold Sunday we were invited to a friend’s house for lunch. The lady of the house, who happens to be an excellent cook, prepared some roasted, very aromatic, sweet potato wedges as an appetiser. It was love at first bite. I have been roasting them on a weekly basis ever since. I tried roasting them with coconut oil, as our friend suggested and they are really infused with amazing flavour. But I wanted to keep a more Mediterranean aroma, so I used olive oil. You don’t need a lot; they roast beautifully with just 2 tablespoons of oil.

Roasted sweet potatoes mixed in a salad with feta cheese are absolutely delicious. The tanginess of the cheese and the sweetness of the potato are heaven for your taste buds! I added kale as I learned to love it lately and drizzled the salad with balsamic vinaigrette sweetened slightly with maple syrup. Serve it as a light lunch or side salad at a BBQ. You can’t go wrong with this one.

For the sweet potatoes

• 1 kg (about four large) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in wedges
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp coriander seeds
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

• 5 cups packed kale leaves (I used 1 x 125grams bag)
• 1 cup coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs pine nuts, roasted in a pan over medium heat
• ½ cup (100 grams) feta cheese crumbled

For the vinaigrette

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbs maple syrup
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 200 C. Put mustard seeds, cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Roast for a couple of minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until spices are fragrant. Don’t burn them, as they will taste bitter. Mustard seeds are ready when they become grey. Crush roasted spices in a mortar and pestle.

Put potato wedges in a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Mix together with your hands, massaging the oil on the potatoes. Sprinkle with the roasted spice mixture, salt and pepper. Mix again with your hands to distribute the spices. Roast for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are soft and cooked but not mushy. Transfer to a glass plate and leave to cool.

Put all ingredients for the dressing in a jar and shake to combine.

In a large bowl put kale, coriander leaves, spring onion and almost all pine nuts (leave some for garnish). Drizzle over the dressing and mix well. Add the cooled potato wedges and mix again. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust. Mount the salad on a platter and crumble over it the feta cheese. Sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts and serve at once.