Sweet potato and black bean bake

Step 1

Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy bottom pan or a casserole pot.

Step 2

Add diced onion and fry it off on a low heat until almost translucent, stirring from time to time.

Step 3

Add diced-up garlic, continue frying for another minute or so.

Step 4

Mix all the dry spices into the onion and garlic. Fry them off for another minute, stirring the whole time.

Step 5

Add in all the tomatoes and their juices. Once in the pan, break the tomatoes down with a wooden spoon. Add a can full of water and allow the sauce to simmer gently for about 30 minutes.

Step 6

Once the pan gets dry, add another can full of water and continue simmering the sauce until until tomatoes break apart and the sauce thickens. It needs to be thick for this dish or else the bake gets watery.

Step 7

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 8

Preheat the oven up to 180° C / 355° F and grease a baking dish with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

Step 9

Spread ½ cup (120 ml) of tomato sauce at the bottom of the dish.

Step 10

Slice sweet potatoes with a mandolin to achieve 3 mm / 0.1" thick slices. I don't recommend slicing them by hand (unless you are a pro) as the slices need to be exactly the same thickness for them to cook at the same time and this is really hard to do using a knife.

Step 11

Place a layer of sweet potato on the tomato sauce making sure the slices overlap slightly. Sprinkle with salt, oregano and smoked paprika.

Step 12

Next spread on a can's worth of black beans. Season with a bit of salt and cumin.

Step 13

Follow with another layer of sweet potato. Again overlap them slightly and season with salt, oregano and smoked paprika.

Step 14

Spread the second can of drained beans on top of the potatoes. Season with a bit of salt and cumin.

Step 15

Follow up with a third layer of sweet potato. Again overlap them slightly and season with salt, oregano and smoked paprika.

Step 16

Finally, spread the rest of the tomato sauce on top - you should have just under ¾ cup left.

Step 17

Cover with a piece of tin foil and bake for about 60 minutes - give or take - until the sweet potato is cooked through and a knife slides right in.

Step 18

Sprinkle with shredded vegan cheese and bake (no cover this time) for about 10-15 minutes, until the cheese has melted.