Make Esther Clark’s vegan sweet potato nachos with crispy onions
Spiced sweet potato and chipotle-infused nut sauce provides the perfect vegan nacho topping for Clark's Mexican-inspired casual dinner-party starter or movie-night snack
Faith Mason
Serves 4-6
Preparation time 35 mins
Cooking time 25 mins
Ingredients
- 500g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp hot chilli powder
- 100g unsalted cashew nuts
- 140ml cashew or any other nut milk
- 2-3 tsp chipotle chilli paste
- 300ml sunflower oil
- 1 whole large red onion, finely sliced into thin rounds
- 2 x 200g bags of shop-bought tortilla chips
- 1-2 limes, quartered
- Fine salt and black pepper
- Salsa to serve
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
- Place the sweet potato on a baking tray, add the oil, cumin, coriander and chilli powder and toss together before arranging the sweet potato cubes in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
- Meanwhile, place the cashew nuts in a bowl of boiled water and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Drain and place in a blender or the small bowl of a food processor. Add the nut milk, 2 teaspoons of the chipotle chilli paste and ½ teaspoon of salt and blitz until completely smooth. Taste the mixture: if you like it a little spicier, add more of the chipotle paste. Spoon into a bowl and set aside.
- Line a baking tray with kitchen roll. Pour the sunflower oil into a large, deep heavy-based saucepan and set over a medium heat. After around 10 minutes, bubbles should begin to rise to the surface; this means the oil is hot enough to fry in. In batches, fry the onions in the hot oil for 2–3 minutes or until just beginning to darken and curl up. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the kitchen paper, then sprinkle over a little salt to keep them crisp.
- Pile the tortilla chips onto a serving plate and top with the roasted sweet potato, drizzle over the cashew cream and spoon over the salsa. Finish with bundles of the crispy onions and squeeze over the limes to serve.
From Mexicana! by Esther Clark; photography by Faith Mason. Published by HarperCollins
