Three Saturday mornings in a row while strolling through the Urban Harvest Farmers market, I walked past a giant bunch of bright-green, velvety hoja santa leaves. With floral notes of anise and black pepper, I could not resist the urge to buy them.
Each time I cooked them the heady aroma would intrigue me into trying another idea. They are great on the grill or as a wrap, their intoxicating scent lending flavor to anything from the humble potato to a fish fillet. Commonly used in Mexican cuisine, they are an essential ingredient in the green mole from Oaxaca and often used in soups or stews.
ingredients
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon toasted ground cumin
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
8 to 10 hoja santa leaves, assorted sizes
2 medium sweet potatoes, roasted or boiled
1/2 cup minced red onions
4 to 5 tablespoons ghee or butter, divided
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup grated melting cheese
Makes 8 to 10 parcels
instructions
Whisk the yogurt with ground cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Wash the hoja santa leaves thoroughly then pick out 4 to 5 of the largest ones, cut out the middle thick stem and set them aside. Mince the rest of the leaves up and set aside separately.
Peel and mash the sweet potatoes and combine with red onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and the minced leaves.
In a small frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and pop the cumin seeds. Immediately add the minced garlic and turn the heat off. Add the chili powder to the ghee and then fold into the mashed sweet potato mixture.
Lay flat each leaf and spread the sweet potato mix evenly over the leaves, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides.
Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the sweet potato. Fold the leaf over first horizontally then vertically into a neat rectangular parcel, ensuring the filling is not visible. Repeat with the rest of the leaves. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Heat a large skillet and add the remaining ghee. Sauté each parcel on both sides for 2 to 3 minutes. Cut them in half and serve warm with cumin yogurt.
notes & variations
Replace the ghee with olive or coconut oil.
Instead of cheese, add chopped cashews or coconut.
Instead of sautéing, steam the parcels for 4 to 5 minutes
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