Now that there’s a bit of a nip in the air and the daylight hours are limited, I feel the need for some comfort food. Very soon “bewitching” date in the calendar will be upon us, and the colours and flavours of my recipe this week make it a perfect dish to serve up on All Hallows Eve.

There is a little heat in my recipe coming from chilli oil to cook the steaks and sweetcorn; green chilli in the salsa, and some sweet chilli sauce in the dressing. I’m a chilli wimp so the flavours are relatively mild,  you can add more to bump up the intensity if you prefer. I make my own chilli oil by adding Mexican chipotle seasoning to sunflower oil, and brush it over the steaks and sweetcorn just before cooking. Use plain oil if preferred.

The salsa salad is consists of fresh sweetcorn flavoured with green chilli (use red for more heat), some spring onions for sharpness. and for nuttiness, toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil. To finish, I add white balsamic vinegar for a little sweetness. You can experiment with the balance of flavours to suit your taste-buds.

On with the recipe. I hope you enjoy it, and have a Happy Hallowe’en 🙂

Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 900g medium-sized sweet potatoes, scrubbed
• Chilli oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salsa:

• 4 sweetcorn cobs, whole or halved
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
• 2 mild green chillies, deseeded and chopped
• 3 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar

For the dressing:

• 2 tbsp. tomato ketchup
• 3 tbsp. sesame oil
• 4 tbsp. Thai sweet chilli sauce
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• Chilli flakes to sprinkle

1. Leaving the sweet potatoes unpeeled, cut them into  ½cm thick slices. Bring a large shallow pan of water to a gentle boil and cook the slices for 3-4 minutes in simmering water to soften them but not cook them completely. Drain well, pat dry with kitchen paper and leave them to air dry on a wire rack.

   

2. When ready to cook, heat a large griddle pan until hot. Brush the slices with chilli oil and season on both sides, then cook the slices a few at a time, for 3-4 minutes on each side, pressing them on to the griddle, until lightly charred. Drain, cover and keep warm until you have cooked all the slices.
3. For the sweetcorn salsa, cook the cobs in boiling unsalted water (salt can toughen the kernels) for 4-5 minutes until tender. Drain well.
4. Preheat the grill to a hot setting. Arrange the sweetcorn on  the grill rack and brush with chilli oil. Cook under the grill for about 5 minutes, turning frequently, until golden and lightly blistered. Drain well and leave to cool.

   

5. Strip the sweetcorn kernels from the cobs using a sharp knife and mix with the remaining salsa ingredients. Cover and chill until required.

   

   To serve, mix all the dressing ingredients together and place in a dipping bowl. Arrange the sweet potato steaks on a warm platter and serve with the salsa salad and the dressing. Sprinkle with chilli flakes if liked.