Sweet Potato

Here’s a vegetable for the sweet-toothed. Its rich, chestnutty sweetness almost verges on cloying, but it is surprisingly good with chillies and spices. The orange variety has moister flesh, while the white ones can be rather mealy. Sweet potatoes are not related to potatoes at all but are generally prepared in the same way. When buying, check the colour of the flesh by scraping away a tiny patch of skin with your fingernail. They should keep for a few weeks in a cool, dark place and can be peeled and boiled like potatoes, but often have a better flavour if baked or boiled whole in their skins.