Sweet Potato Stars

Actually, the concept is very simple. Take some sweet potato, cut it into a pretty shape and dress it up with a topping or two to make it look schmancy. And there you have it, a very attractive and reasonably healthy canape that can be prepared well in advance.
And once you get the hang of it, you'll see this has plenty of potential. Beetroot stars? Why not. Other shapes? Grab your favourite cutter and populate the hors d'œuvre tray with ducks, hexagons, snowmen, etc. to your heart's content.

Ingredients
sweet potato - an average sweet potato might give you about 10 cut shapes, plus a lot of leftover bits :-) Save them of course; why not make a delicious sweet potato mash?
toppings - in the photo I have used a macadamia creme and a pinch of mixed fresh sprouts. I grow them at home and like to put a few things in the mix such as rocket and cabbage that bring quite a burst of flavour.
The macadamia creme worked very well because it's a little sticky and hence doesn't easily slide off the sweet potato base, and also grips the little floral tripon top.

Method

1. Carefully select your sweet potatoes as that's the key to getting this right. Best thing to do is take the cutter you are going to use down to the market and use it as a size guide. Ideally you want nice cyclindrical sweet potatoes, without too many knobbly bits, that are wide enough around the barrel for your cutting shape.
2. Wash off any surface dirt and cut the sweet potatoes into thirds, across the width. Steam the pieces for about 8 minutes or until al dente. You need to get this right. Too soft and your eventual shapes will be mushy and unusable. Too hard and your shapes will be unpalatable. So the first time you do this I'd suggest you steam them 8 minutes then use a skewer to probe for texture. Once you have them adequately cooked, allow to cool.
3. Cut the cooked sweet potatoes into rounds that are 1cm thick. If you have cooked the sweet potatoes properly this should be fairly straightforward. There's no need to bother slicing any sections of sweet potato that are won't be wide enough for cutting into shapes.
4. Lay the rounds flat and use thecutter to cut out your desired shape(s). I like to position the cutter first and then give it a firm downward shove with the heel of my hand. Again, this is where you'll find out if the sweet potato is well cooked.
5. Dress the sweet potato shapes with your preferred toppings.And serve :-)
   

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