Sweet Potato Pottage

Last week, my sister messaged me that she just came up with a recipe that has never been thought off. I asked what it was and she said Sweet Potato Pottage. I laughed so much at the cuteness of her naivety. I quickly schooled her on how this was no surprise to the food ecosystem that already was evolving quickly and it had been done and with so many variations as well. She hated that I had to burst her bubble like that but it made me chuckle just a little too much. Sweet potato is not a personal favorite because i prefer my potatoes very savory. I know I am a weirdo but it’s just my preference. However, there are those occasions where I like to delve into sweet potatoes solely for the health benefits. Some of which are listed below;

• High in Vitamin C – Immunity helper
• Contains Iron – Blood Replenisher
• Contains Magnesium – Anti-Stress 
• Source of Potassium – Heartbeat Regulator
• High in Vitamin A – Eyesight Strengthener 

These are a few of the benefits of sweet potatoes but they are also variety dependent. When I lived in North America, it was not uncommon to see sweet potatoes that were yellow but I have not found them here in Nigeria yet. All the same, it produces the same result. One thing i noticed was sweet potatoes are generally harder to peel raw and they get soft really quickly. To my pottage, I added efirin (scent leaves) if you don’t have this, Basil is a great substitute. Hope you enjoy my recipe.

Recipe for Sweet Potato Pottage

Ingredients

1 Large Sweet Potato

1/2 bulb of Red Onion

2 Large Tomatoes

2 Scotch Bonnet Peppers

2 Seasoning cubes

1/4 cup of Crayfish pieces

2 Tablespoons of Crayfish Powder

1 Handful of chopped Efirin ( Substitute with Basil)

1.5 Cooking Spoons of Palm Oil

Method

Peel your potatoes, dice and rinse.

Place in a pot with enough water covering it to boil the potatoes.

Add your chopped onions, chopped tomatoes and pepper, season and bring to boil.

Once the potato is soft, the water would have significantly reduced, turn down the heat to medium and allow to simmer.

Add the crayfish pieces and powder and stir in. Your pottage should be thicker at this point.

Allow to simmer for 3-5 more minutes, add the palm oil and allow to simmer for 2 more minutes.

Stir in the efirin and turn off the heat.

Serve hot.