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Roasted sweet potatoes and fresh figs recipe
- Cuisine: Jewish
- Prep Time: 20 min(s)
- Cook Time: 25 min(s)
- Serves 4
Figs are abundant in Jerusalem and many trees, bearing the most
delectable fruit, actually belong to no one, so anybody can help
themselves. Summer months are always tinted with the smell of wild
herbs and ripe figs. The mother of Sami’s childhood neighbour and
friend, Jabbar, used her roof to dry the glut of figs (and tomatoes)
in the hot summer sun, spending hours cleaning and sorting them
meticulously. Poor Um Jabbar — Sami and her son never wasted
time and used to sneak up to her roof regularly, stealing her figs at
their peak and causing havoc. This wasn’t enough for Jabbar though.
The boy had such a sweet tooth that he always carried around with
him an old match box full of sugar cubes, just in case. Unfortunately,
this habit had clear ramifications, evident in his ‘charming’ smile.
This unusual combination of fresh fruit and roasted vegetables is one
of the most popular at Ottolenghi. It wholly depends, though, on the
figs being sweet, moist and perfectly ripe. Go for plump fruit with
an irregular shape and a slightly split bottom. Pressing against the
skin should result in some resistance but not much. Try to smell the
sweetness. The balsamic reduction is very effective here, both for the look
and for rounding up the flavours. To save you from making it you can
look out for products such as balsamic cream or glaze.
Ingredients
4 small sweet potatoes (1kg in total)75ml olive oil
40ml balsamic vinegar (you can use a commercial rather than a premium aged grade)
20g caster sugar
12 spring onions, halved lengthways, cut into 4cm segments
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
6 fresh and ripe figs (240g in total), quartered
150g soft goat’s cheese, crumbled (optional)
Maldon sea salt and black pepper
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 240°C.Wash the sweet potatoes, halve them lengthways and then cut each again similarly into 3 long wedges. Mix with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 teaspoons of salt and some black pepper.
Spread the wedges out on a baking sheet, skin-side down, and cook for about 25 minutes until soft but not mushy. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down.
To make a balsamic reduction, place the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 2–4 minutes, or until it thickens. Be sure to remove the pan from the heat when the vinegar is still runnier than honey; it will continue to thicken as it cools. Stir in a drop of water before serving if it does become too thick to drizzle.
Arrange the sweet potatoes on a serving platter. Heat the remaining oil in a medium saucepan and add the spring onions and chilli. Fry over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring often, making sure not to burn the chilli, and then spoon the oil, onions and chilli over the sweet potatoes.
Dot the figs among the wedges and then drizzle over the balsamic reduction. Serve at room temperature with the cheese crumbled over, if using.
SBS cook’s notes
This recipe has been reproduced with minor SBS recipe style changes.| Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20ml; 1 cup equals 250ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55–60g, unless specified.
Recipe from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, with photographs by Jonathan Lovekin. Published by Ebury Press.
If you enjoyed this Roasted sweet potatoes and fresh figs recipe then browse more Jewish recipes, side dish recipes, vegetarian recipes, easy recipes, baking recipes and our most popular hainanese chicken rice recipe.
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