The Sunday Times Magazine - UK (2022-04-03)

38 • The Sunday Times Magazine

From left: a herby sweet potato salad with pink peppercorns; green beans with shallot and garlic cream; carrot and red lentil soup

Sweet potato

salad with loads

of herbs and pink

peppercorns

Really fresh and bursting
with flavour, this salad is great
served with flatbreads to
scoop it all up. Or roll it up
into wraps. An optional
tablespoon of tahini in the
sauce can add an interesting
note, but the pink peppercorns
really set everything alight.
A rather underrated spice
that is wonderfully fruity,
pink peppercorns should be
used much more.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 6 sweet potatoes, about 1kg


• 1 clove of garlic


• 250g yoghurt


• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,
  plus extra to serve


• ½ cucumber, deseeded
  and cut into 1cm cubes


• 1 heaped tsp sumac


• 1 tbsp pink peppercorns,
  lightly toasted in a dry pan, JOE WOODHOUSE, GETTY IMAGES

then roughly crushed using

a pestle and mortar

• 15g each fresh coriander,
  mint and dill, leaves picked

01 Heat the oven to 180C

(200C non-fan). Put the whole

sweet potatoes on a tray

and roast in the oven for

25-35 min until completely

soft. Remove from the oven

and leave to cool slightly

until you are ready to serve.

02 Meanwhile, crush the

garlic to a paste with a pinch

of salt in a pestle and mortar,

or grate on a fine grater.

Transfer to a bowl and mix

in the yoghurt and olive oil

along with a pinch of salt.

03 When you are ready to

serve, halve the sweet

potatoes and then cut each

half into thirds. Spoon the

yoghurt sauce onto a platter

or serving plate. Follow with

the sweet potato, cucumber,

sumac and pink peppercorns.

Finally, mix together and

scatter over the herbs.

Drizzle with oil and serve.

Green beans

with shallot,

garlic cream

and toasted

breadcrumbs

This sultry little number is

a great start to a meal or as a

lunch option. The sauce and

the breadcrumbs can be made

ahead, so when it’s time to serve

you can just blanch the beans

and toss them in the sauce.

Serves 3 as a light lunch or

4 as a starter

Ingredients

• 125g old bread, blitzed to
  fine breadcrumbs


• 3 tbsp olive oil


• 1 small onion or 3 shallots,
  finely diced


• 2 small cloves of garlic,
  finely grated or crushed


• 100ml crème fraîche


• 2 tsp Dijon mustard


• 400g extra-fine green
  beans, trimmed


• 10g parsley, leaves picked
  and finely sliced
  
  
  • Extra virgin olive oil,
    for drizzling
  
  
  
  

01 Heat the oven to 160C

(180C non-fan). Toss the

breadcrumbs in half the olive

oil and spread evenly on a

baking tray. Bake for 10-18 min

until golden. Remove from

the oven and set aside.

02 Heat the remaining olive oil

in a pan over a medium heat,

add the onion or shallots and

a pinch of salt, then cook for

10 min. Add the garlic and

cook for a further 3 min. Add

the crème fraîche, then bubble

away for 1-2 min until slightly

reduced. Take off the heat and

stir in the mustard. Check the

seasoning and set aside.

03 Boil the green beans in

salted boiling water for

3-5 min until just tender.

04 Drain and toss the beans

with the onion mixture and the

parsley. Arrange the dressed

beans on plates and top with

the breadcrumbs. Drizzle with

extra virgin olive oil.