You can use lots of different spice blends here; I like baharat, but for ease you could substitute that with Indian spices or smoked paprika. I sometimes use purple sweet potato, but you get a nicer colour contrast with the bog-standard orange variety. The beetroot will still have a little bite after 30 minutes in the oven, so if you prefer it completely soft, cut it into smaller chunks or use precooked instead.
Spiced roast sweet potato and beetroot with chickpeas and feta
This easy weeknight dish is even nicer the next day, so it’s worth making the full amount even if you’re cooking for fewer people.
Prep 15 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 2-3
2 tbsp olive oil
3 generous tsp baharat
1 tsp sea salt flakes
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
600g sweet potato, cut into 1½cm-thick half-moons (and quartered if the potatoes are very large)
450g fresh beetroot, peeled and cut into 1½cm wedges
400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 red onion, peeled and very finely sliced
1 lemon, juiced
½ tsp sea salt
200g feta, roughly crumbled
25g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Greek yoghurt, to serve
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Tip the olive oil, baharat, salt, garlic, sweet potato, beetroot and chickpeas into a roasting tin large enough comfortably to hold all the vegetables in one layer. Mix well to coat – the chickpeas will fall under the veg, which is fine – then roast for 30 minutes.
Blanch the red onion in a bowl of boiling water for a minute, then drain well. Mix in the lemon juice and sea salt, then leave to pickle for 20 minutes.
Once the vegetables are out of the oven, dress them with the pickled onion/lemon mix, then taste and adjust the salt as needed. Scatter the feta and coriander over the top, and serve with some yoghurt alongside.
