All the rain has been so frustrating for farmers – and yet Ric Morrow, whose farming
heritage stretches back to the late 1800’s, is calmly philosophical. Besides. There are the
tumbles of sweet potatoes, the wedges of luridly orange pumpkin, the perfectly conical little
onions. Cherry tomatoes crowd together in punnets; there’s the last of the pale yellow
butter beans; avocadoes – Fuerte and Hass – occupy an entire table. Rick tells me that their
most popular produce, the strawberries, will be back in about a month.
I love cooking with sweet potatoes and leaving the Morrow stall I’m already planning two
uses for them. One is a favourite Guy Mirabella recipe in which a kilo of sweet potato is
sliced into 1-centimeter-thick rounds. Preheat your oven to 180C and in a baking tray
combine the sweet potato with 100 grams of pancetta you’ve cut into matchsticks, an entire
garlic bulb, unpeeled but separated into cloves, and about thirty sage leaves. Slosh in 75ml
of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix everything together with your hands before
baking it for about an hour. It’s a gorgeous accompaniment to meat, fish or chicken and
delicious on its own.
Then – and it’s definitely soup season – there’s my Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup. In a
large pot melt 250g of butter. Finely slice two large onions and cook till translucent, then
throw in one peeled chopped sweet potato and a peeled, seeded wedge of pumpkin. With a
wooden spoon stir these through the onions for about 5 – 10 minutes then pour in enough
vegetable or chicken stock to cover. Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil then
simmer till the vegetables are soft. Using a stick blender, blend till smooth. Serve with crusty
bread – divine!
The Morrow Farm is at Mullumbimby every Friday from 7 – 11am
Victoria Cosford
