Ingredients:

• 1 medium bunch of fresh sweet potato leaves, trimmed
• 5 cups water
• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced or quartered
• 1 medium onion, minced 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, minced
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

Method:
In a small bowl, combine ginger, lemon juice, olive oil and soy sauce/tamari.
Heat water in a pot, bring to a boil, add sweet potato tops and blanch for 30 seconds. Drain. Transfer to a serving dish.
Pour the lemon juice mixture over the blanched sweet potato tops, add tomato slices and onions and mix well. Serve.
This dish is traditionally served with freshly-cooked, piping-hot white rice.

Ingredients:

• Filo pastry
• Olive oil or butter
• Equivalent of 1 generous bunch of spinach, using Brazilian spinach and Surinam spinach, (can use silverbeet and/or rainbow chard if preferred).
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 1 cup firmly packed, sweet basil leaves, finely sliced
• 250g ricotta cheese
• 100g feta cheese – crumbled into small pieces
• 4 eggs – lightly beaten
• 2-3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Remove stalks from spinach, slice all leaves and submerge in a bowl of boiling water.
Slice spinach stalks thinly. Add a small amount of oil to frying pan and add spinach stalks, onion, garlic and basil. Cook until spinach stalks become transparent and remove from heat.
Drain spinach and press to remove as much of the water as possible (I use a salad spinner). In a medium bowl, add cooked mixture, spinach, eggs, pepper and cheeses. Mix lightly together – do not over mix these ingredients.
Brush a baking dish with melted butter. Layer sheets of filo pastry – using a pastry brush to oil/butter every second or third layer of filo. Build your base (6-8 sheets is good). Pour mixture onto the pie base then add more sheets of filo, repeating the same process as the base until you are happy with the thickness.
Bake in oven on medium heat until golden brown – approx. 20-30 minutes.
Pie can be served hot or cold.

Peel and cube pieces of purple yam, white yam and cocoyam. Bring cocoyam to a boil and cook until just tender.  Steam purple* and white yams.  Allow to cool. Combine yams and cooked Madagascar beans in a bowl.

Make a dressing by combining coconut yoghurt, lemon juice and tamari in a screw top jar.  Add in finely chopped parsley, chives and chervil, shake well to combine.  Pour enough dressing over vegies and beans to lightly coat.  Serve chilled.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium fresh pineapple
• 500g fresh yacon, 1-2 tubers
• ¼ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup sweet red pepper, chopped

Method:
Peel and slice the pineapple, remove the core and slice into 1cm thick wedges. Peel yacon and shred, using the largest shredding side. Immediately add lime juice to shredded yacon to prevent discoloration and then toss with pineapple and peppers.
A few shredded leaves of fresh spearmint added make a nice variation.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cassava, peeled and chopped into smaller pieces
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• ½ cup coconut palm sugar (or sugar of choice)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon*
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg*
• 2 teaspoons cardamom seeds*
• 3 cm piece fresh ginger*, grated finely
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 1 cup coconut milk

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Place all ingredients except the coconut milk into a food processor and blend until the mixture is smooth. Add milk gradually to make a thick batter.
Pour batter into a baking-paper-lined cake pan and place in oven until cake is set and the top is browned, approx. 1¼ hours. Allow to cool before serving.

*Adjust spices to taste.
Double this quantity to fit a lamington tray.