This roasted sweet potato with parsley & walnut pesto dish is the first recipe I’m making out of Melissa Delport’s new cookbook Heal. I adore roasted sweet potato wedges and love how they are almost effortless to make. The parsley and walnut pesto, which blends into a delicious and vibrantly green sauce, takes them to the next level. The recipe is vegan.

Heal is Melissa’s second cookbook. Her first was the bestselling Whole. This new book is filled with plant-based recipes for every kind of eating moment. Her approach is rooted in balance and supports a gentle path to health and wellness.

It is not a diet book. It is more like a guide that encourages you to listen to your body and make choices that feel right. Melissa draws from Ayurvedic principles, and the mind-body connection runs through the pages.

The recipes are nutrient dense and high in fibre. The mix of wholesome food and her thoughtful writing makes you feel a little glowy just reading it.

Roasted sweet potato with parsley & walnut pesto recipe (vegan)

How we cook and eat is a kind of language, and I love learning new ones. Melissa brings this to life with her generous use of ingredients and bold flavour combinations. Her recipes have depth and texture, yet they stay approachable.

Most ingredients are easy to find. You may need the odd seasonal item or superfood powder, and a visit to a health shop now and then, but nothing feels out of reach. The recipes are vegetarian, and many can be adapted to vegan.

I found the dishes in Heal comforting and inspiring. I cannot wait to make her Island salad in summer when stone fruit is back. Her green shakshuka is high on my brunch list, and her spanakopita with dill and feta looks wonderful. There are also chapters with recipes for children, snacks and indulgent desserts. Heal is available from all good bookshops and online.

*Cooks notes – I adapted Melissa’s recipe for pesto because I wasn’t sure how much parsley was in her bunch so I probably made a smaller quantity, but it was a good amount for this recipe (with a little leftover for sandwiches).

My body doesn’t like raw garlic in sauces, so I used Zahav’s method for hummus where I soak the crushed garlic in the lemon juice for a bit to infuse then strain out the bits. I left off the lemon zest here out of personal preference and not wanting any more bitterness.

I also sprinkled chopped walnuts over at the end because I love a crunchy element but this is optional. A sprinkle of chilli flakes, (or powder) or paprika could also be nice here to offset the sweetness and add a dash of fire.

I served this to friends on Friday night and it was equally nice at room temperature as a kind of salad.

Recipe – serves 4 ish as a side (6 if there are other sides) – adapted from Melissa Delport

Prep Time:10

Cook Time:1

Ingredients

1 kg sweet potato I prefer the orange sweet potatoes
A generous glug of olive oil
Salt and pepper
Extra walnuts roughly chopped for garnish (optional)
Fresh parsley or coriander leaves to serve optional

Pesto:

Juice of one lemon – about 2 Tbsp
1 clove of garlic crushed
15 gms fresh parsley leaves only
40 gms raw walnuts
6 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F and line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking paper or foil. Alternatively, just roast directly onto the sheet.
Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes, and then allow them to dry. Cut them into roughly similar sized wedges and toss in a large bowl with a large glug of olive oil. Spread the wedges out over the baking sheet and season with salt & pepper. Bake for 1 hour or a little longer if they are very thick.
To make the parsley and walnut pesto, crush the garlic and combine with the lemon. Either do this separately or bash them both in a pestle and mortar. Allow this to stand to infuse for about 20 minutes. Alternatively, if you like raw garlic, simply add the crushed garlic and lemon juice to the pesto.
In a bowl of a small food processor or blender add all the ingredients and blend until smooth. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper as required.
Serve the roasted sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of chopped walnuts and fresh parsley or coriander leaves (whole or chopped).