This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
I recently discovered the website for DELICIOUSLY ELLA, and whilst I am not a vegan and my husband is definitely not I thought the recipes looked so good that I just had to try one or two. This one was the first I tried and the sweet potatoes roasted in oil and cinnamon made this dish so tasty that I have now tried it out on friends for supper and honestly every last one of them has said they loved it and the lack of meat was not a problem.
Ella developed a vegan lifestyle for herself as she became very ill whilst in her early 20’s however she does not dictate that we should all go vegan but perhaps try it for part of the week and increase the days if you feel comfortable. As we have just been told by scientists and the media that protein is a no-no then this is probably a good time to try some of her recipes out.
Ella also has an app which I downloaded onto my phone and is so useful when you pop into a supermarket to get something quick for supper.
Serves 4:
– 4 servings of wholegrain gluten free pasta (I tend to use brown rice pasta)
– 4 small to medium sweet potatoes
– 8 plum tomatoes
– a dozen cherry tomatoes
– 1 jalapeño pepper
– 1 dessert spoon of tomato puree
– a handful of fresh basil
– olive oil
– chilli flakes
– cinnamon
– salt
Start by pre-heating the oven to 190C. Next, chop the sweet potatoes into relatively thin slices, before placing them onto a baking tray. Drizzle them in olive oil, salt and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Cook for 20 minutes, until they become soft.
While the sweet potatoes cook, slice the plum tomatoes into small cubes. Place these in a frying pan and begin to heat them with olive oil and salt. As these start to simmer and disintegrate chop the jalapeño pepper into tiny cubes, adding them into the pan, as well as a sprinkling of chilli flakes. After about 10 minutes, add the cherry tomatoes, chopped into quarters and the tomato puree. Then tear the basil leaves into the pan.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta – don’t let it go soggy as it will cook for a minute longer in the bake. Drain the pasta and add a few spoons of the tomato sauce and a little olive oil to it.
Once the sweet potatoes are soft and the pasta is cooked, remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and layer half of them on the bottom of a suitable baking dish. Then add a layer of the tomato sauce on the top, followed by a layer of pasta. Then another layer of sweet potatoes and a final layer of tomato sauce.
Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes to let it all mix together.
Serve and enjoy!
Dauphinoise for vegan’s recipe here