Nicola Galloway
Nicola prefers to use the purple-skinned owairaka kūmara variety for their fluffy texture once baked.
Heat is your best friend when baking whole kūmara (or potatoes) so as to crisp up the skin and soften the inner flesh. For baking I prefer the purple-skinned owairaka kūmara variety for their dried more fluffy texture once baked. However, any kūmara variety can be used, or even agria potatoes if preferred.
The butter sauce combines mildly bitter and creamy tahini with pungent ginger to offset the sweetness of the kūmara. Make a complete meal by serving the baked kūmara with coleslaw and chilli beans, or as a vegetable side with the cauliflower above.
READ MORE:
* Matariki recipe: Honey Baked Kūmara
* Recipe: Kūmara oven chips with smoky mayo
* Recipe: Sesame broccoli with tahini lemon dressing
Baked kūmara with tahini butter sauce
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4 as aside
Ingredients
4 medium kūmara, about 800g
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Spring onions, sliced
Tahini butter sauce
60g soft butter
4 tbsp tahini
2cm piece ginger root, finely grated
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Salt to taste
Method
Preheat the oven to 200ºC (fan 180ºC).
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Scrub the kūmara and pierce the skin 5-6 times with a small knife (to release steam while cooking). Put in an oven dish and drizzle over the olive oil. Rub to evenly coat the kūmara then sprinkle generously with salt and cracked pepper.
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Bake for 45-50 minutes until the flesh is soft when pierced with a knife. Cool a little.
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Make the sauce. Combine the ingredients in a small bowl, mashing and mixing with a fork until smooth. Check flavour, adding salt to season if needed. Note, if the butter is cold, soften it by sitting in a warm position or heating briefly in the microwave rather than melting as it will change the texture of the sauce.
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Cut a cross in the top of each baked kūmara and squeeze from both sides to open up the flesh. Add a spoon of the tahini butter sauce and sprinkle with spring onions. Serve immediately.
Nicola Galloway is an award-winning food writer, cookbook author and culinary tutor.
www.homegrown-kitchen.co.nz
