Preparation
time: 7 – 10 minutes (plus cooking time: ¾ hour
and overnight cooling time)
Cooking time: 15 – 20 minutes
Note: the sweet potato needs to be cooked the day before.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
For
the puffs
500g sweet potato
4tbs / 60ml self raising flour
to taste salt and pepper
To deep fry:
1ltr cooking oil (eg. Crisp & Dry)
cubes white bread to test the oil
For the dipping sauce
15g creamed coconut, at room temperature, very finely chopped,
or mashed
2tbs / 30ml boiling water
3tbs / 45ml sweet chilli sauce at room temperature
1½tbs / 20ml chopped fresh coriander
METHOD
1. The day before: Preheat oven to 200C / 400F / Gas Mark 6. Slit
the skin of the sweet potato. Place directly on an oven shelf and
bake until
soft – about ¾ hour. Put a tray underneath the shelf to
catch any drips from the ends of the potato so they don’t burn
onto the oven floor. Remove from the oven and cool overnight. 2. To make the dipping sauce: mix the boiling water with the creamed
coconut to make a smooth paste. Mix with sweet chilli sauce and 1tbs
chopped coriander. The mixture should be cloudy but not lumpy: remove
any lumps by mashing well if necessary. Serve at room temperature in
a small dish, and sprinkle with the rest of the chopped coriander.
3. To complete the puffs: Scrape out the flesh of the baked sweet potato
and measure 400g. Discard skin and any remaining flesh. Put the measured
sweet potato into a processor with the self raising flour and a little
salt and pepper. Process until a smooth, sticky paste then transfer into
a piping bag with a 1cm serrated nozzle.
4.
To deep fry the puffs: Put oil in a large pan, or wok. The oil should
be at least 10cm
deep,
but should not come more than half-way up the
pan*. Alternatively, use a deep fat fryer according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
Heat the oil until it will brown a cube of bread in 15 seconds – no
hotter - otherwise the puffs will burn. Pipe 3cm lengths of mixture into
the hot oil, cutting off each one with a sharp knife. Keep turning the
puffs over, and deep fry for about 1 ½ - 2 minutes until well
browned but not burned. Drain on kitchen paper.
5. Serve as soon as the puffs are all cooked with the dipping sauce
in a bowl beside them. The puffs are beautifully crisp on the outside,
with a soft melting interior. The dipping sauce looks good in a small
white bowl. You can eat the puffs cold, but they lose the delicious crispness.
* this is for safety when deep frying, and ensures that the oil will
not bubble over the top of the pan when the food is added to the hot
oil
Note: the sweet potato paste is best made on the day of cooking, but
can be stored in the fridge for a hour or two.
©The
Vegetarian Society 2006
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