Occasionally, in the Feast restaurant on board our ships, customers try a dish that is so tasty, they request the recipe from us. This happened recently on MV Hamnavoe when Sweet Potato and Spinach Dahl was on the menu, and we were happy to help! This main course often features as our vegetarian special. Executive Chef George O’Neill kindly supplied this nutritious recipe. It is easy to make, serves four, and suitable for vegans. Our Sweet Potato and Spinach Dahl is the perfect warming dish for when the hills of Hoy are dusted with snow. The combination of flavours in this colourful meal is quite beautiful – from the sweetness of the sweet potato, roasted and in lovely big chunks, to the spices, which made the spinach and the chopped tomatoes taste extra-juicy! Top tip: George also suggested that you can drop a tablespoon of mango chutney into it at the end for a bit of extra sweetness… The ingredients to make Sweet Potato and Spinach Dahl photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Ingredients: 2 large sweet potatoes (or 4 small sweet potatoes) 1 large onion 1 red pepper 1 tsp fresh ginger (chopped very fine) 1 tsp garlic (chopped very fine) ½ tsp cumin ½ tsp coriander ½ tsp turmeric ½ tsp curry powder 1 tbsp tomato puree 400g tin chopped tomatoes 1 litre of vegetable stock 100g red lentils (rinsed) 250g baby spinach leaves ½ tsp garam masala 1 lime (juiced) Method: Wash the sweet potatoes in cold water and leave the skin on. Remove any marks or blemishes with a clean kitchen scouring pad or a knife. Pre–heat your oven to 200° C / 180° C in a fan oven / gas mark 6. The washed, chopped sweet potatoes ready to go in the oven photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Chop the sweet potatoes into large pieces and, on a baking tray, drizzle them with vegetable oil. Roast the sweet potatoes for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, add some vegetable oil to a large saucepan, and cook on a medium to high heat. Peel and chop the onion into a medium dice. Add it to the saucepan and begin to cook the onion. Cooking the diced onion and pepper photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Wash the pepper and chop it into a medium dice. Stir it into the saucepan and continue to cook. Add garlic, ginger, tomato puree and spices to the onion and pepper photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Add the garlic, ginger, tomato puree and dry spices (cumin, coriander, turmeric and curry powder) and cook out for a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, and vegetable stock to the saucepan and bring it all to a gentle boil. Add the rinsed red lentils. Add chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock, rinsed red lentils and roasted sweet potato to saucepan photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and add to the saucepan. Reduce the heat and simmer the dahl for 30 – 40 minutes until the sweet potato and lentils are cooked through. Stir the Dahl occasionally to ensure it is cooked evenly, and add some more water if necessary. Once cooked through, add the spinach in small handfuls until wilted photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon Increase the heat and add the spinach, a handful at a time, until wilted. Finish the Dahl with the garam masala, lime juice and seasoning. Enjoy! By George O’NeillChef from Aberdeen who considers himself very lucky to live and work in the beautiful Orkney islands. When on leave from the ship, George enjoys cooking for family and friends and hanging out with his wonderful daughter, Eva. Pin it! Header image: Sweet Potato and Spinach Dahl recipe photo © Copyright Magnus Dixon
