sweet potato ‘noodles’ with chorizo and orange

I bought a large spiraliser while in the US and now find myself twisting all manner of vegetables into long thin ‘noodles’ and ribbons. Not only do they cook super quickly – thus I assume keeping more nutrients in and making them healthier, they have a wonderful texture and trick your brain into thinking you are eating an actual noodle. Brilliant. Low carb and nutritious meals all the time. My very favourite is zucchini in the ‘noodle’ format, which I love to simply stir fry with olive oil or Parmesan infused olive oil, salt and pepper and eat with lashings of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. You can find out how I do that here, but I happily eat them raw too and I’ve been spiralling them (I’m not sure this is even a word?) into all kinds of salads lately.

Orange flesh sweet potatoes are my favourite and I saw that my supermarket had labelled them Beauregard sweet potatoes, a name I was unfamiliar with. When I lived in the states we used to just call them yams. I’m unsure if they are the same cultivar, but regardless I think any orange flesh sweet spuds will do. Sadly they are not available all year round in South Africa.

Chorizo, which goes well with most things from prawns to calamari to chickpeas, cauliflower and tomatoes, is a wonderful addition to this dish and the main flavour component. I added a little extra smoked paprika because I wanted to amplify the smoky flavours. When you fry the sausage it releases the most delicious oil and this is wonderful to cook the sweet potato in.

The orange zest and juice gives things a citrus lift, and I’m lucky to have an orange tree in my back yard that is literally dripping with ripe oranges at the moment. For serving I do suggest big dollops of creme fraiche and loads of fresh coriander, either roughly chopped or the leaves stirred through. The cream adds a lovely unctuousness which makes this all the more comforting in winter.

Recipe – enough for one as a meal or two as a side

• 2Tbsp olive oil
• 125g good quality Spanish chorizo, cut into dice
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and spiralled (about 320g final spiralled weight)
• zest of one orange
• juice of 2 oranges (about 1/2 cup)
• 2Tbsp Medium cream sherry (optional)
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper
• Creme fraiche to serve
• fresh coriander to serve

Run the sweet potatoes through the spraliser until you have thin ribbons.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large non stick frying pan and fry the chorizo until it starts to brown and some of the orange oil is released. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in the same pan and fry the sweet potato for a minute or so. Add the spices, orange juice, zest and sherry and allow this to cook off. If you have a lid for the pan, pop it on as this helps to steam / cook the vegetables too. Allow most of the liquid to cook off. Add chorizo back to hte pan and toss this through.

When the sweet potao is cooked but still has some texture serve this in a bowl with a generous dollop of creme fraiche and a small handful of fresh coriander leaves. I find stirring the leaves through hot food wilts them down sufficiently and no chopping is requires.

 

 

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