One of my all-time favourite side dishes is something I learned from my Bro - a really good cook :) Its probably middle-eastern ...  Butternut, sweet potato and red onion either baked in the oven (too slow and consumes a lot of power) or pot roasted as I prefer. "Peasant style" - du paysan....

Because I cook for myself 90% of the time, my quantities usually cover sufficient for two people. If this doesn't make sense,  I either keep half the quantity for the next day or freeze the other portion for another time.

Cut a thick slice of butternut from the long neck portion. Keep the skin on - scrub with a zim pad. Hack it in to pieces. Cut the equivalent portion or slightly more of a sweet potato and hack it too - the skin of which is also left on - just scrubbed with the zim pad. (Here I think I need to explain the zim pad - I allocate one of those pot scourers which is part sponge, part rough 3M style scourer. Using the rough side I clean the skins of potatoes, carrots, butternut etc under running water - works well so that you don't have to peel anything)

Slice at least half a medium-sized red onion and hack it.

Place all ingredients in a pot. Liberally drizzle olive oil over the contents and grate coarse salt over everything - I was initially cautious about this, but it makes a huge difference to the end result.... Salt is so important to taste.

Put the lid in place and turn the stove plate to a low setting. Stir the mix every few minutes to prevent the vegetables sticking to the pot. Once its simmering away, check and stir every 5 minutes or so. Turn the heat right down to prevent burning. Keep the lid on.

After about 15 minutes, introduce a spice mix made up of a half a teaspoon of each - cinnamon, smoked paprika, ground ginger and cumin. Stir it in slowly and continue to check your dish - stirring occasionally. The vegetables will begin to break down / crumble slightly which is perfect. Keep testing for softness and ready to eat.

When you're satisfied that the vegetables are ready to eat, introduce the piece de resistance - a table spoon of peanut butter into the pot and let it melt in the heat of the vegetables for a few minutes. Stir or fold it in slowly. Switch off the stove plate and allow the dish to rest for a few minutes before serving.

This dish is also ideal for vegetarians. Banting followers may have an issue - but its great for the odd deviation / splurge.

Bon appetit!

Chili, garlic and coriander are at the top of the scale of my list of flavours with which I love to enhance food - albeit raw or cooked. Sometimes I feel that there may be some imbalance in my metabolism as the slightest smell of fresh coriander (Dhania in the Indian community - I love this name) makes me want to immediately chomp it.... and I usually do.

So its natural that I eat and cook with these ingredients as well as other incredible tastes.... as often as possible. 

Sometimes I wonder if my intense love for strong flavours across the board, may have a link to my ancestry - part Welsh with their own history of the invasion by the Normans etc, etc. All linked to the Vikings.