Dhal-Stuffed Purple Sweet Potatoes

Serves 4

Dhal is a healthy and nutritious meal that works perfectly with sweet potato for a hearty and fulfilling meal. This is a mildly-spiced dish but if you like a bit of spice, add more chilli.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hours

INGREDIENTS

250g red split lentils, rinsed well

4 purple or orange sweet potatoes

Coconut or rapeseed oil, for frying

1 red onion, finely diced

1 large thumb of ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 large clove of garlic, crushed

½ teaspoon chilli paste

2 teaspoon turmeric

1 heaped teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon cumin

700ml vegetable stock

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lime

2 large handfuls of spinach

To Serve

Handful of roughly chopped fresh coriander

Chilli flakes

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/ Fan 160˚C/ Gas Mark 4.

1. Cover the lentils with cold water and soak for 5 minutes.
2. Wash and prick the sweet potatoes with a fork. Place the potatoes in the Stoneware 26cm Heritage Rectangular Dish and bake in the oven for 50 – 60 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes.
3. In the meantime, make the dhal. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for 4 – 5 minutes until it starts to soften. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for 1 minute.
4. Stir in the chilli paste, turmeric, curry powder and cumin and fry gently for a further 1 – 2 minutes stirring to ensure the spices do not burn.
5. Drain the lentils and add to the pan, stirring well and coating in all the spices. Turn up the heat and add the stock – bring the pan to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat, place on lid and allow to gently simmer for 20 – 25 minutes until the lentils are soft and creamy. If the lentils have reduced but are still a little hard to taste, add a little more water and cook for a further 5 minutes.
6. When the potatoes are cooked, remove from the oven, slice down the middle and spoon over the dhal. Finish with a sprinkling of coriander and chilli flakes – serve straight to the table.

Cook’s Notes

• This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover sweet potatoes cooked for our purple sweet potato Tear ’n’ Share bread.
• For an extra special finish, sprinkle a little crumbled feta over the dhal-stuffed potatoes and pop back in the oven for 5 minutes.