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Coconut canapes

Crisp sweet potato puffs with a coconut dipping sauce from The Vegetarian Society

Coconut canapes

Method

1. The day before: Preheat oven to 200C/Gas6. Slit the skin of the sweet potato. Place directly on an oven shelf and bake until soft - about ¾ hour. Put a tray underneath the shelf to catch any drips from the ends of the potato so they don't burn onto the oven floor. Remove from the oven and cool overnight.

2. To make the dipping sauce: mix the boiling water with the creamed coconut to make a smooth paste. Mix with sweet chilli sauce and 1tbs chopped coriander. The mixture should be cloudy but not lumpy: remove any lumps by mashing well if necessary. Serve at room temperature in a small dish, and sprinkle with the rest of the chopped coriander.

3. To complete the puffs: Scrape out the flesh of the baked sweet potato and measure 400g. Discard skin and any remaining flesh. Put the measured sweet potato into a processor with the self raising flour and a little salt and pepper. Process until a smooth, sticky paste then transfer into a piping bag with a 1cm serrated nozzle.

4. To deep fry the puffs: Put oil in a large pan, or wok. The oil should be at least 10cm deep, but should not come more than half-way up the pan. Alternatively, use a deep fat fryer according to the manufacturers' instructions. Heat the oil until it will brown a cube of bread in 15 seconds - no hotter - otherwise the puffs will burn. Pipe 3cm lengths of mixture into the hot oil, cutting off each one with a sharp knife. Keep turning the puffs over, and deep fry for about 1 ½ - 2 minutes until well browned but not burned. Drain on kitchen paper.

5. Serve as soon as the puffs are all cooked with the dipping sauce in a bowl beside them. The puffs are beautifully crisp on the outside, with a soft melting interior. The dipping sauce looks good in a small white bowl. You can eat the puffs cold, but they lose the delicious crispness.

Cook's note: the sweet potato paste is best made on the day of cooking, but can be stored in the fridge for a hour or two.