Mark Hix recipe: Sweet potato flatbreads

Serves 4

Sweet potato flatbreads (Jason Lowe)

Sweet potatoes on the barbie are great – you can wrap them in foil and cook them as the barbecue is heating up, which saves you turning the oven on.

There are various types of flatbreads you can use for this – from the large Turkish sheets to simple Mexican tortillas or, if you are a bit of a baker, you can make your own.

4 medium-sized sweet potatoes
3tbsp vegetable or corn oil
1 large onion, peeled, halved and finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 medium chillies, trimmed and sliced
30-40g root ginger, scraped and grated
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp fenugreek seeds
1tsp black mustard seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

A handful of coriander, chopped
4-6 flatbreads, depending on size

Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and put them on the barbecue for an hour or so until soft; cooked this way, you don't have to keep too close an eye on them. Alternatively, you can cook them without foil, but you will need be more attentive, and turn them every so often.

Meanwhile heat a saucepan on the stove or barbecue with the oil in and add the onions, garlic, ginger and spices and cook on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring every so often. Add a cup of water and continue to simmer for a few more minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated.

Halve the sweet potatoes and leave to cool a little, then scoop them out into a bowl and mix with the onion mixture and coriander, and season to taste.

To serve, cut your flatbreads into even-sized pieces (tortillas you can leave whole). Spoon the sweet potato mixture into the centre of the flatbreads and fold them in half. Simply grill them on the barbecue on the coolest part for a few minutes on each side and serve immediately.