Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

For the Sweet potato fries (Serves2-3)

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

2 heaped tbsp polenta

Sea salt

For the Jalapeño ketchup

5 tbsp tomato ketchup

12 pickled jalapeno slices

½ tsp onion flakes

Squeeze of lemon juice

Pepper to season

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F.

Cut your sweet potatoes into fries.  The easiest way to do this is to (without cutting in half) cut the potato into long strips, vertically.  Then take each of the oval potato slices and cut into vertical strips.  This should give you the (almost) perfect shape for fries.

Pop all of the sweet potatoes into a plastic zipper bag (large sandwich/freezer bag) and pour in the olive oil.  Close the bag up and give it a good shake to ensure the oil is evenly distributed over the potatoes.  Add in the smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and garlic powder.  Give another big shake to make sure the potatoes are coated in the spices (they should all be the same kind of rusty colour).

Now it’s time for the secret ingredient that will make your fries extra crispy – polenta!  Pop 2 heaped spoonfuls into the bag, close it up and give a good shake for a few seconds.

Line a baking tray with tinfoil (I needed to use two baking trays!) and place the fries onto the tray.  Make sure that you don’t overcrowd the fries – there should be a little space around each one, otherwise they won’t crispy! When all the fries are lined up like soldiers, season with sea salt and then pop the tray into the oven.

After 15mins of cooking, remove from the oven and turn over each of the fries.  Place the tray(s) back in the oven and cook for a further 15mins.  You know when they are cooked because they will begin to brown on the outside.

While the fries are cooking, you can make the jalapeño ketchup!  Simply pop all the ingredients into a blender/Nutribullet or use a hand blender to blitz together.  Serve in a small ramekin – perfect for dipping!

Enjoy, Fi x

Beetroot Hummus

Ingredients

1qty 400g can of chickpeas (drained)

250g cooked beetroot

2 tbsp tahini

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

Juice of half a lemon

1 tbsp ground cumin

5 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt to season

1 tbsp creamed horseradish

A couple of parsley sprigs to garnish

Method

Pop all of the ingredients into a food blender/processor, apart from the horseradish and parsley and blend until smooth.

Once blended, transfer to a dish and use a small spoon to swirl the creamed horseradish into hummus, creating a marble effect.

Serve with gluten free crackers, flat breads or crudities.

Chunky Guacamole

Ingredients

3 Large ripe avocados

8-10 Cherry tomatoes

¼ red onion

½ Clove garlic (grated or finely diced)

Small handful of coriander (cilantro)

½ Red jalapeno

Juice of 1 large lime

Salt & pepper to season

Tortilla chips, to serve (I use Manomasa)

Cooking Instructions

To begin, cut the avocados in half (along the length) and remove the stone.  The easiest way to dice an avocado is to cut it up into little segments.  Do this by using a knife to slice length ways into the avocado from one side to another, stopping when you feel the skin (don't cut through the skin), then rotate and do the same thing along the width - the avocado should look like a little grid.   Do this with all 3 avocados and use a spoon to scoop the tiny avocado chunks into a bowl.

Cut the tomatoes into small pieces and add into the bowl and stir.

Finely dice the red onion and red jalapeno.  Push aside a bit of the avocado mixture in the bowl so that there is a clear space at the bottom and add the onion, jalapeno and garlic (grated) into this space.  Squeeze the whole juice of one lime in on top of the onion jalapeno and garlic and leave for five minutes.   The lime juice will gently take the sharpness out of the garlic and onion.

Finally, roughly chop the coriander (cilantro), leave a little to the side (for garnish) and mix into the guacamole.  Season with salt and pepper and then sprinkle the remaining coriander over the top of the guac.  Serve with gluten free tortilla chips.