Spicy South African Stew

While I definitely enjoy the sweeter things in life - good chocolate, sticky toffee pudding with lashings of sauce and  a variety of icing laden baked goods- I’ve never been enamoured with the sweet potato.
The idea of cooking it States style topped with marshmallows for Thanksgiving makes me want to gag.
I just find the vegetable, no matter how much I tell myself it’s good for me, too sucrose..
But, not wanting to let the orange  root beat me I tried it again recently in a really delicious stew at The veggie Red Lion, a fab veggie restaurant in Great Bricett, Suffolk.
Enrobed in a spicy, coconut and peanut sauce and sprinkled with mounds of crispy potato, I could actually tolerate the vegetable, its sweetness offset by the clever blending of spices. In fact, I didn’t just tolerate it, I loved it.
Now, obviously the chef isn’t going to let me into her secret, so this is my version of what I tasted on that icy December night and friends have agreed the taste is pretty darn close to the real thing.
It’s wholesome, packed with vitamins and  filling fibres, and is cheap to make too - the ideal solution for January when money’s tight.


Buy it:
3 onions, finely chopped or whizzed in the blender
1tsp fennel seeds
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp turmeric
4tsps med curry powder
1/4tsp Colman’s mustard powder
1tsp salt
2 heaped tbsps crunchy peanut butter (I use Whole Earth)
½ block coconut cream
1 tin tomatoes , preferably whizzed in the blender
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into rough 2cm chunks
2 tins chickpeas
1 red pepper, sliced thinly
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
1/2tsp mixed herbs
3tbsps oil


Do it:
1. Preheat the oven to 200c.
2. Place 1tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan and place on a medium heat. Add the chopped onions, stirring until they turn golden and soft - not burnt and crunchy.
3, Add all the spices and stir on a high heat for one minute.
4. Turn the heat down and add the chickpeas, pepper, peanut butter, coconut cream and tomatoes. Pour in half a mug of water and allow to simmer for 20minutes.
5. Add the sweet potato  and salt to the mixture and another half a mug of water. Cook for 30 minutes on a medium heat until the sauce is thick and the sweet potato is cooked through but not falling apart. At the same time, pace the oil, potatoes and mixed herbs in the oven on a roasting tray, shaking them to coat in the herby oil.
6. Keep an eye on the potatoes which should be ready after about 30 minutes, at about the same time as the stew.
7. Serve the stew straight away with the crunchy potatoes or place the stew and potatoes in the fridge in separate bowls to place in individual serving dishes and reheat later.