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Sweet potatoes with maple curry yogurt

The new Yotam Ottolenghi cookbook, Jerusalem, is stunning. I’ve made it through the first few sections and love the history of the recipes and family influence that permeates his meaningful food.

On my last visit to his restaurant in London I had an amazing salad with curried yogurt. I can’t even remember what the yogurt was on top of… but I’ve not forgotten the delicious combination. The cold & fragrant yogurt on top of the warm sweet potatoes will not disappoint.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 sweet potatoes, skin on, cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 2 shallots, sliced lengthwise
  • olive oil
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 tsp madras curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons chives, chopped finely
  • 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
  • salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the sweet potatoes and shallots with enough olive oil to coat and put on a baking sheet. Spread out evenly. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden. When warm, sprinkle with a little salt. Set aside.

Mix the yogurt, curry powder and maple syrup all together in a bowl.

To serve, place the sweet potatoes on a plate and spoon some of the yogurt in the middle. Top with chives and pistachios. Serve room temperature or slightly warm.

Serves 4.

Greek Chicken Meatballs with Spicy Yogurt Sauce

This is the one Rachel Ray recipe in my repertoire… probably because she hasn’t concocted some silly name for them, as she tends to do. I’ve made a few modifications – adding sundried tomatoes, changing up the seasonings, etc. These chicken meatballs are a go to meal when I’ve got chicken that I’m tired on grilling. Serve with pita bread, salads or just dip and enjoy as is.

My cheap tip: Make your own ground chicken. I always have chicken breasts in my freezer. Instead of buying ground chicken I but the chicken into cubes and grind in my food processor. Cheaper, easy and just as good. Feel free to substitute ground turkey or pork.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken Meatballs:

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for liberal drizzling
  • 1/2 white or yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped, divided
  • 1 box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
  • 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
  • salt & pepper

Yogurt Sauce:

  • 1 1/2 cups Greek style plain yogurt
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons, 1/2 a palm full, cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons, 1/2 a palm full, coriander
  • Salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl combine onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Squeeze the water out of the spinach until completely dry. Separate the spinach as you add it to garlic and onion. Add feta, chicken , sundried tomatoes and coriander to the bowl and a liberal drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the meat with veggies and feta and form 18 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs. Brush a nonstick cookie sheet with a little olive oil. Place the meatballs on the cookie sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes until they are golden and juices run clear.

Place yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, coriander and a little salt in food processor and process until smooth. Adjust seasonings and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve meatballs with sauce.

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