Sweet Potato Soup With Feta And Zaatar Oil Recipes

SWEET POTATO SOUP WITH FETA AND ZA'ATAR OIL

Steps:

• In a small pot, combine 1/4 cup olive oil and the za'atar. Cook over medium heat until hot, but take care not to burn the za'atar. Set aside for at least one hour to cool and infuse.
• In a large pot, heat the butter and remaining olive oil over medium high heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion, carrot and leek and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sweet potato cubes and sauté for another minute. Add the water, stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Once the soup begins to boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Check to make sure the sweet potatoes are completely soft. If not, continue cooking until they are.
• Remove the bay leaf and puree the soup using a regular or immersion blender. Check the seasoning and add the salt (you may need more or less depending on the stock you used). Ladle out the soup into individual bowls. Crumble some feta into each bowl, and drizzle each bowl with some of the za'atar oil.

ROASTED SWEET POTATO SALAD WITH FETA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine sweet potatoes, olive oil, and cumin seeds on a roasting tray, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Spread cashews onto a baking sheet.
• Roast potatoes in the preheated oven until soft and slightly colored at the edges, 30 to 45 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes.
• At the same time, toast cashews in the oven until they start to turn golden brown and become fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes. Chop when cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, whisk oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper for dressing in a small bowl.
• Divide feta cheese, spinach, arugula, watercress, and cilantro among 3 plates. Top with warm sweet potatoes and cashews. Pour dressing over top and serve.

SWEET POTATO TOAST WITH ZA'ATAR

Steps:

• Microwave 2 sweet potatoes until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Peel and puree in a food processor with 1/4 cup tahini, 2 tablespoons olive oil, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon cumin and a pinch of cayenne. Spread on 4 slices multigrain toast. Top with olive oil and za'atar.

SWEET POTATOES WITH FETA CHEESE

Steps:

• Place the slices of sweet potatoes into a microwave safe dish, and add just enough water to cover. Cook for 10 minutes in the microwave, or until starting to become tender.
• Preheat the oven's broiler. Place the sweet potato slices onto a greased broiler pan. Slice the feta cheese the best you can, and place a piece on top of each potato slice. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over all.
• Place under the preheated broiler for about 6 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned.

SWEET POTATO-GARLIC SOUP WITH CHILE OIL

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove some of the excess paper from the head of garlic, leaving the bulb intact. Rub the bulb with 2 teaspoons oil and place it in the center of a rimmed baking sheet.
• In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes, onion and cumin seeds with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Spread them in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast until the sweet potatoes are slightly caramelized and tender and the garlic has softened, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest until the vegetables are cool enough to handle, about 8 minutes.
• While the vegetables roast, prepare the chile oil: In a small saucepan over medium, heat the neutral oil, taking care not to burn it. (Measure the oil's temperature with a thermometer; it should read about 325 degrees. You could also test the temperature with a Sichuan peppercorn: It should sizzle when tossed in.)
• Once the oil is hot, remove it from the heat, add the red-pepper flakes, garlic and Sichuan peppercorns. Cover with a lid and let steep for at least 20 minutes. (The oil can be prepared a day ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.)
• Transfer the cooked sweet potato mixture to a blender. Squeeze the softened garlic pulp out of the cloves and add the pulp to the blender. Add 1/4 cup stock to the baking sheet and scrape off any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the stock and bits to the blender. Add the remaining stock, the black pepper and turmeric to the blender and purée on high speed until smooth and creamy. Taste and add salt as needed. Transfer the soup to a medium saucepan and rewarm over low as needed.
• Divide the soup among bowls. Give the chile oil a stir and drizzle the soup with a generous tablespoon or two. Serve immediately.

ZA'ATAR SWEET POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Peel and cube sweet potatoes (about one inch cubes). Cut onion into wedges and then cut wedges in half (basically, big chunks).
• Put sweet potato and onion pieces into a 9"x13" baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle on za'atar and salt and toss to coat.
• Bake at 350 for one hour, stirring every 20 minutes.