Delightful sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are delightful. They always have the right amount of sweetness in every mouthful. They are sometimes the forgotten provision, probably because cooks may be limited in their mode of preparation. They are versatile, always available at the market, and do not need to be refrigerated before cooking.

You can oven roast them, make them into "French fries," are delightful when dressed with a vinaigrette, and are even tasty when made into breakfast hash browns. Don’t forget they’re loaded with minerals and are a good source of complex carbohydrates. So enjoy your sweetness, from potatoes.

Sweet potato mash

1 large sweet potato, 12 ozs in weight

2 English potatoes

½ cup milk

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pimento pepper, seeded and chopped

¼ cup chopped chives

½ cup grated cheese, optional

Boil potatoes, peel and mash.

Add milk and salt and pepper.

Combine.

Heat oil in a small frying pan and sauté onions, garlic and pepper, for just one minute.

Add to potatoes, add chives and cheese if using.

Place in an oven proof dish and sprinkle with cheese if using.

Broil or grill until cheese is melted.

Garnish with chopped chives.

Serves 4 to 6

Sweet potato cakes

2 lbs sweet potatoes

½ cup milk

¼ cup butter

⅓ cup chopped herbs

¼ tsp nutmeg

salt

vegetable oil to fry

1 cup each bread crumbs and flour to dredge

1 egg

Boil, peel and mash sweet potatoes.

Warm milk with butter and add to potatoes mix well add herbs and nutmeg, season to taste with salt.

Beat egg and set aside.

Place the flour in one plate, and the breadcrumbs in another.

Form the potato into 2-inch balls, dredge in flour, shake off excess, then dip in egg and roll in crumbs, flatten and pan fry until golden.

Makes 6 to 8 cakes.

Baked sweet potatoes with chili and lemon

2 large sweet potatoes, about 1½ to 2 lbs

¼ cup olive oil

1 tbs minced garlic

1 tsp chilli powder

salt and freshly-ground black pepper

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

Boil sweet potatoes and peel, cut into wedges.

Preheat grill or broiler.

Combine all other ingredients, paint onto potatoes on both sides and place into a greased ovenproof pan.

Grill or broil until golden on top, turn and repeat, remove and serve at once.

Serves 4 to 6

Sweet potato hash browns

This recipe uses left over sweet potatoes, simply peel and cut into tiny squares,

Chop some onion, garlic and pimentos, have ready some chopped chives and celery.

Heat oil in pan, add onion and garlic, and pimentos sauté add sweet potatoes; cook mashing then a little so that they come together. When they start to brown, add herbs and cook for a few minutes more, season with salt and pepper.

Roasted garlic and sweet potato croquettes

2 lbs sweet potatoes

1 head garlic

¼ cup butter

½ cup milk

2 eggs

salt to taste

1 cup bread crumbs

½ cup flour

vegetable oil for frying

Preheat oven to 400F.

Slice the top off of the garlic head, place on a roasting pan and wrap in foil, drizzle with a little olive oil.

Roast for one hour, cool.

Then squeeze garlic from the bottom and the pulp should come right out, set aside.

Boil sweet potatoes until very soft, about 40 minutes, depending on the size.

Peel and crush well, add butter, one beaten egg, milk and roasted garlic cloves, stir to combine, season with salt.

Roll potato into 1½-inch balls, dredge in flour, then in the other beaten egg, then in crumbs, fry until golden.

Makes about 8 to 12.

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