Scored roast sweet potatoes with goat’s cheese, olives and ’nduja oil

Diana Henry
·2-min read
Plate of roast sweet potatoes
Use vegetarian ’nduja if you want – M&S does an own-brand version - Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton

Sweet potatoes make one of the best suppers, especially if you do something interesting with them. You can use vegetarian ’nduja here if you want. M&S does an own-brand version and Belazu also makes it.

Overview

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Serves

4 to 6

Ingredients

  • 6 sweet potatoes

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • 75g pitted green olives, chopped

  • 25g walnuts, chopped

  • 1 garlic clove, chopped

  • 10g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar

  • about 200g soft goat’s cheese (a creamy one), broken into small chunks

For the ’nduja oil

  • 8 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

  • 80g ’nduja

  • 1 small garlic clove, grated to a purée

Method

Step 1

Heat the oven to 190C/180C fan/gas mark 5. Halve 6 sweet potatoes lengthwise and score the flesh to make a lattice, without cutting all the way through to the skin. Brush all over with 2 tbsp olive oil and season.

Step 2

Put the potatoes on a metal baking sheet, cut-side up, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the flesh is tender.

Step 3

Meanwhile, bash together 75g chopped pitted green olives, 25g chopped walnuts, 1 chopped garlic clove and 10g roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley using a pestle and mortar, seasoning a little (olives are already quite salty). Add 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar.

Step 4

When cooked, arrange the soft sweet potatoes on a large serving dish and scatter about 200g soft goat’s cheese (a creamy one, broken into small chunks) on top.

Step 5

For the ’nduja oil, heat 8 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a frying pan and add 80g ’nduja. Keep the temperature low as ’nduja can burn easily. You want it to break down – use a wooden spoon to help it along – so there is oil with little lumps in it.

Step 6

Add 1 small garlic clove (grated to a purée) and stir. Spoon this on to the potatoes and goat’s cheese, then scatter the olive mixture over the top (don’t add so much that you miss the lovely contrast between the colour of the cheese and the ’nduja oil).

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