Roasted sweet potato with garlic and chive cottage cheese, za’atar and toasted walnuts

Name: Roasted sweet potato with garlic and chive cottage cheese, za’atar and toasted walnuts
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Israeli and Mediterranean
Ingredients: 600 g Sweet potatoes (2 sweet potatoes, about 300 g each, of similar size); 250 g Plain cottage cheese, 5% fat (1 × 250 g tub, 125 g per person); 30 g Walnut kernels (1 small handful of walnut kernels, 7–8); 28 g Extra virgin olive oil (about 3 tbsp: 8 g for the sweet potatoes, 8 g for the salad, 12 g (1 generous tbsp) for the za’atar); 4 g Za'atar (hyssop, sumac and sesame blend) (1 heaped tsp); 1 g Chilli flakes (peperoncino) (1/2 tsp, adjusted to taste); 3 g Garlic (1/2 small clove, grated); 60 g Lemon (1/2 lemon, about 25 g juice: finely grated zest and 2 tsp juice in the cottage cheese, 2 tsp juice over the rocket); 8 g Chives (1/4 bunch, washed and finely snipped); 60 g Rocket (washed, checked and spun dry); 3 g Fine salt (1.5 g, a generous pinch, on the cut sides; 1 g, a pinch, on the mashed flesh; 0.5 g, a small pinch, in the salad); 0.5 g Ground black pepper (2 pinches)

dairy light lunch · Israeli and Mediterranean · 2/5 · easy · 60 min, including 20 hands-on

The batata of Tel Aviv cafés: sweet potato roasted until caramelised, topped with cool cottage cheese, garlic, lemon and chives, and finished with za’atar oil, chilli and toasted walnuts.

Ingredients for two

600 g	Sweet potatoes 2 sweet potatoes, about 300 g each, of similar size
250 g	Plain cottage cheese, 5% fat 1 × 250 g tub, 125 g per person
30 g	Walnut kernels 1 small handful of walnut kernels, 7–8
28 g	Extra virgin olive oil about 3 tbsp: 8 g for the sweet potatoes, 8 g for the salad, 12 g (1 generous tbsp) for the za’atar
4 g	Za'atar (hyssop, sumac and sesame blend) 1 heaped tsp
1 g	Chilli flakes (peperoncino) 1/2 tsp, adjusted to taste
3 g	Garlic 1/2 small clove, grated
60 g	Lemon 1/2 lemon, about 25 g juice: finely grated zest and 2 tsp juice in the cottage cheese, 2 tsp juice over the rocket
8 g	Chives 1/4 bunch, washed and finely snipped
60 g	Rocket washed, checked and spun dry
3 g	Fine salt 1.5 g, a generous pinch, on the cut sides; 1 g, a pinch, on the mashed flesh; 0.5 g, a small pinch, in the salad
0.5 g	Ground black pepper 2 pinches

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Scrub the sweet potatoes under running water, dry and halve lengthways. Rub the cut sides with 8 g oil (a scant tbsp) using your fingertips, then salt with 1.5 g, a generous pinch. Do not add spices yet, as they would burn against the tray.
Place the sweet potato halves cut-side down on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Roast for 35–45 minutes, depending on thickness: a knife tip should pass effortlessly through the centre and, when you lift a corner with a spatula, the cut surface should be golden brown and caramelised.
Meanwhile, prepare the topping. If the cottage cheese releases whey, drain it in a fine sieve for 5 minutes. Finely grate the zest of the half lemon and the garlic into a bowl, add the cottage cheese, 2 tsp lemon juice (10 g), chives and pepper, mix and refrigerate. In a small bowl, mix the za’atar with 12 g olive oil (1 generous tbsp): the oil should remain fluid.
During the final 5–6 minutes of roasting, spread the whole walnuts on a free corner of the tray: they should smell toasted and their skins darken slightly without blackening. Leave to cool slightly for 2 minutes, then roughly chop with a knife.
Turn the sweet potatoes with a spatula, lightly mash the flesh with a fork without piercing the skin, and salt with 1 g, a pinch. Top with the cottage cheese, spoon over a drizzle of za’atar oil and scatter with toasted walnuts and chilli flakes. Dress the rocket in a bowl with the remaining 8 g oil, 2 tsp lemon juice (10 g) and a small pinch of salt (0.5 g). Serve one whole sweet potato per person with the salad.

Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.

Lighter version

How the taste changes:

Fewer walnuts mean less crunch and toasted flavour alongside the sweet potato. The cottage cheese stays fresh and creamy, and the oil kept for the za’atar preserves the fragrant finish.

Walnut kernels : 15 g
Extra virgin olive oil : 20 g

Rub the cut sides of the sweet potatoes with just 4 g oil using your fingertips, and dress the rocket with 4 g oil; keep the 12 g oil for the za’atar.

Half the walnuts and less oil on the sweet potatoes and salad; the za’atar oil, garlic and chilli carry the flavour.

On your plate

Recipe

626 kcal · protein 20 g · carbs 62 g · fat 30 g

Quantities per person

300 g Sweet potatoes
125 g Plain cottage cheese, 5% fat
15 g Walnut kernels
14 g Extra virgin olive oil
2 g Za'atar (hyssop, sumac and sesame blend)
0.5 g Chilli flakes (peperoncino)
1.5 g Garlic
30 g Lemon
4 g Chives
30 g Rocket
1.5 g Fine salt
0.25 g Ground black pepper

Cooking tips

For an office lunch, roast the sweet potatoes and walnuts the day before, cool quickly and refrigerate. Transport chilled: the unmashed sweet potato halves in one container, cottage cheese in a second, undressed rocket in a third, za’atar oil separately, and the salad’s oil, lemon juice and salt in another small jar. Keep the walnuts and chilli flakes in a separate bag so the nuts stay crunchy. Reheat the sweet potatoes until hot in the centre, mash the flesh while hot, then add the topping, scatter over the nuts and chilli, and dress the salad when ready to eat. Without a microwave, the sweet potato is also good at room temperature, taken out of the fridge an hour beforehand. Eat the next day.

Equipment : oven, baking tray, baking paper, spatula, fine grater, fine sieve, bowl, small bowl, salad bowl

The cottage cheese batata of Tel Aviv cafés, roasted sweet potato topped with fresh cheese, za’atar and olive oil, adapted as a portable lunch.

Roasted sweet potato with garlic and chive cottage cheese, za’atar and toasted walnuts

Method

Timer

On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

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