Known for her bold style in MEZCLA and Ottolenghi’s FLAVOUR, Ixta now turns her attention to the bright, vibrant tastes of Brazilian food.

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Bright, vibrant Brazilian food with Ixta’s signature style and flair. From the author of MEZCLA and co-author of Ottolenghi FLAVOUR.

Brighten up your meal times with the flavours of Brazil.

Bestselling author, Ixta Belfrage has made a name for herself as one of the most exciting young talents in the food industry and in FUSÃO (translating to fusion in Portuguese), she brings all her signature creativity and flair to the food of her mother’s homeland.

With recipes such as Moqueca fish burgers, Duck in golden tomato broth and Papaya & chocolate cake with citrus honey glaze, Ixta’s recipes offer up fresh takes on Brazilian dishes and ingredients, along with explanations and substitutions for any hard-to-find ingredients. With stunning photography from Brazil and personal stories intertwined with vibrant recipes, this is food to share, excite and inspire.

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Sweet potato gnocchi with spiced aubergine ragout

Making gnocchi from scratch can be a bit of a faff, but this recipe keeps things simple. It serves two, as I rarely make gnocchi for a crowd, but you can easily scale it up.

In Brazil, batata doce – sweet potato – is the variety with the pink skin and yellow interior – in the UK it’s sometimes known as ‘Japanese sweet potato’ or ‘red sweet potato’. This is the variety I grew up with and love; it’s less sweet than the orange variety.

To bind the gnocchi and to keep them gluten-free, I’ve used masa harina, which is a type of nixtamalized corn flour used in Mexican cooking. It’s not traditionally used in Brazilian cuisine, but it works really well here and keeps the gnocchi gluten-free.

GF, VO

Serves 2

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Gnocchi

500g sweet potatoes (with pink skin and yellow interior)

1 egg yolk

50g masa harina

½ tsp tine sea salt

plenty of freshly cracked pepper

plenty of freshly grated nutmeg

Ragout

2 medium aubergines (500g)

10g fresh basil leaves, plus extra to serve

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

15g salted butter

1½ tbsp tomato puree/paste

1 garlic clove, crushed

¾ tsp medium curry powder

¼ tsp tine sea salt

¼ tsp chilli flakes

plenty of freshly cracked pepper

plenty of freshly grated nutmeg

To serve

grated Parmesan (or (or vegetarian equivalent)

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 200°c fan/220°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Leaving the skin on, cut the sweet potatoes into 170g pieces. Halve the aubergines lengthways. Lightly brush the cut sides with oil and place them cut side down on the tray with the potatoes.

Bake until the aubergines are soft and well browned on the bottom and the sweet potatoes are soft all the way through.

This should take about 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and cut slits in the potato pieces to help them cool.

While the potatoes are cooling, make the ragout. Scoop the aubergine flesh into a large frying pan off the heat (discard the skins). Add all the remaining ragout ingredients. Place on a medium heat and cook for 4 minutes, stirring throughout. Set aside off the heat.

Scoop the sweet potato flesh into a bowl (discard the skin) and mash well to get rid of any lumps. You should have about 300g of mash. Add the egg yolk, masa harina. salt. pepper and nutmeg and mix very well.

Prepare a tray lined with parchment. Lightly grease the parchment with olive oil. Use 2 tablespoons to form pointed ovals of the gnocchi dough, placing them on the tray as you go.

Bring a pot of well-salted water to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat so the water is gently simmering. Add the gnocchi and cook until they all float to the top, about 4 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the gnocchi to the ragout pan, along with about 100g of the cooking water. Place the pan on a medium heat and cook for a few minutes, gently stirring to combine the gnocchi with the sauce.

Finish with grated Parmesan, lemon zest, pepper, nutmeg, a drizzle of oil and more flaked salt if you like.

Note

Japanese or red sweet potatoes can be found in most greengrocers and Caribbean markets. Use regular orange sweet potatoes if you can’t get hold of them.

Photography by Kim Lightbody

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ixta Belfrage spent her youth dipping her fingers into mixing bowls in places as far-flung as Italy, Mexico and Brazil and so became an expert without a title. She began her culinary career proper at Ottolenghi’s NOPI restaurant, before moving to the Test Kitchen, where she has worked for Yotam Ottolenghi for four years, contributing to his columns in The Guardian and The New York Times. She lives in London, where she makes regular guest chef appearances in some of the city’s top restaurants. Flavour is her first book.

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