A Moroccan pastilla is traditionally filled with pigeon and apricots. This colourful vegetarian version uses sweet potato and cinnamon. Serve with roast carrots and buttered kale
Anna is our former Creative Food Editor, and a cookery writer and food stylist. She loves a challenge and is known for whipping up interesting flavour combinations. She’s still in search of the best pizza in the world
See more of Anna Glover’s recipes
Anna Glover
Anna is our former Creative Food Editor, and a cookery writer and food stylist. She loves a challenge and is known for whipping up interesting flavour combinations. She’s still in search of the best pizza in the world
See more of Anna Glover’s recipes
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Ingredients
750g sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tsp
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
260g young spinach
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 red peppers, deseeded and diced
250g pack precooked brown rice
220g pack fresh filo pastry
100g butter, melted
100g vegetarian feta, crumbled
a large pinch of poppy seeds or sesame seeds
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The pastilla can be prepared the day before baking; cover with clingfilm and chill. When ready to cook, brush with more butter, sprinkle with the seeds and add 10 minutes to the cooking time.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Toss the sweet potato with 1 tablespoon of oil, the cumin seeds and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Season and tip onto a shallow baking tray. Roast for 30-35 minutes until tender and lightly golden. Leave to cool.
Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain well. Tip into a colander; press out the liquid using the back of a spoon. Put in a clean tea towel; squeeze out any excess liquid. Leave to cool, then chop. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the onion for 10 minutes until soft, but not golden. Add the garlic and peppers, and cook for another 6-8 minutes until soft. Stir in the rice, remaining cinnamon and seasoning; remove from the heat and cool.
On a large work surface, lay out 3 of the filo sheets end-to-end lengthways (keep the remaining filo pastry covered by a damp tea towel as you work), overlapping each one by about 10cm; stick them together with the melted butter to create a rectangle, then brush the whole thing generously with more butter. Repeat with 3 more sheets along the top half of the rectangle, positioned so they overhang by 10cm at the top. Butter again, then add 3 more sheets, this time to overlap by 10cm at the bottom half of the rectangle. You will end up with a rectangle that’s triple thickness in the middle, but only 1 sheet thick along the top and bottom. Spoon the pepper mix along the centre of the pastry (where it is triple thickness), leaving 5cm at either end. Add the sweet potato, then the spinach and feta on top. Butter the exposed pastry around the filling.
Starting with the closest edge, lift the pastry over the filling, tucking in the ends; then roll up going away from you, to make a sausage. Starting at one end of the sausage, roll up to make a spiral pastilla. Don’t worry if it splits, simply butter pieces of the excess filo (you should have about 3 sheets remaining) and patch up the holes while you mould it.
Slide a flat baking sheet gently under the pastilla. Butter the top and exposed sides generously, then sprinkle over the poppy seeds. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden and crisp. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
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Sweet potato pastilla
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When shopping for sweet potatoes — after you've decided whether you want a soft or firm variety — you should look for ones that have a smooth, taut skin and are free of soft spots, bruises, cracks or signs of sprouting.
Milk is rich in calcium and all are aware of its bone-building effects. This recipe contains Sweet potatoes which are high in Vitamin A and beta carotene as well as potassium; sweet potatoes also contain a good amount of Vitamin E, calcium and folate.
TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: The main secrets to achieving that incredible crispy texture, is to soak the cut sweet potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes. This helps remove the starch from the sweet potatoes so they´re not limp & soggy.
Many sweet potato pie recipes call for boiling the potatoes to cook them for the filling. We recommend steaming or baking the potato in the oven instead. The water removes some of the potato's flavor and nutrients, and the pie can turn out watery.
While Beauregards may be the most common sweet potato, Jewels are right next to them in terms of being a great, classic sweet potato. They have a pretty, thin orange skin, and bright orange flesh that screams "sweet potato." (Or "yam," wrong as that may be. Shrug.)
Wrapping sweet potatoes in foil helps in a few ways. It prevents the exterior of the tuber from drying out and overheating too quickly, which would minimize enzymatic activity; it also results in a more evenly cooked texture.
Baking can also cause an 80% drop in vitamin A levels, twice as much as boiling. Therefore, from a nutritional standpoint, boiling rather than baking should be recommended for cooking sweet potato.
A study from 2012 found that the sugar content of one type of sweet potato was almost five times higher after baking for 90 minutes, mainly due… to an increase in maltose. A fragrant aroma and soft texture are also important to the experience, and the cooking method has a big effect here.
Sweet potatoes are in the morning glory family, while yams belong to the lily family. Yams aren't as sweet as sweet potatoes, and they are starchier and drier. Their texture and flavor are more similar to potatoes or yuca.
A milky substance on your sliced sweet potato doesn't mean that your spud is rotten or spoiled. The ooze is actually referred to as "sap." It is made up of sugar and starch combined with the moisture found in the vegetable, and it escapes out of the damage made from the knife. The sap really equals the sweetness.
It will be good for your body if eating sweet potatoes in the morning, with fresh milk or yogurt, some seeds and green vegetables will be a nutritious breakfast and provide an abundant source of energy for the body.
Sweet potatoes are planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. Sweet potatoes are great sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, beta carotene, fiber and potassium. Sweet potatoes can be white, yellow, red, purple or orange. The orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are sweeter than the other varieties.
Boiling sweet potatoes retains more beta-carotene and makes the nutrient more absorbable than other cooking methods such as baking or frying. Up to 92% of the nutrient can be retained by limiting the cook time, such as boiling in a pot with a tightly covered lid for 20 minutes.
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Prep time: 30 mins 
