The leaves on the vine in front of my kitchen window are changing their color and start falling as soon as the wind picks up. It’s slowly getting colder in Berlin, my wool sweaters replaced my t-shirts and it hasn’t taken long for cozy dishes to be back on my mind. Stews and pies, roasts and cookies – my cooking and baking is getting ready for the cold season. I bought the first quince for my spice and fruit flavoured brandy that I’ll soon need for all those minced pies and fruit cakes. A pile of small lemons from my kitchen counter has been squeezed into a jar with lots of Mr. Cini’s sea salt to preserve and soften them for aromatic lamb shanks. My mood leaves no doubt that I’m ready for winter to come.

I’ll still wait a few more days before indulging in the bright orange pleasures of pumpkins, for now I’ll enjoy the autumny warmth of sweet potatoes, chopped into chunks and sautéed in fragrant cumin and cinnamon oil. Red onions softened in their velvety juices, plump Kalamata olives stirred in at the end and a few parsley leaves sprinkled on top to wave goodbye to summer. I finished it off with a sweet and tart topping, candied lemon peel tends to stick to your teeth a little but it tastes so good in this composition that I’m willing to compromise.

Cumin Cinnamon Sweet Potato with Candied Lemon and Olives

Serves 2

olive oil
ground cumin 1 teaspoon
ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon
medium sized red onions, cut in half and quartered, 2
sweet potato, peeled, quartered and cut into 1 1/2 cm / 1/2″ slices, 430g (15 ounces)
freshly squeezed orange juice 3 tablespoons
white wine 3 tablespoons
water 6 tablespoons
coarse sea salt
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
lemon zest 1 heaped teaspoon
Kalamata olives 6
A few parsley leaves

For the candied lemon peel

long, wide strips of lemon, peeled off the fruit with a vegetable peeler, 5 (without the white pith)
freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 tablespoons
water 4 tablespoons
granulated sugar 3 tablespoons

For the candied peel, bring the strips of lemon peel, juice, water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes until golden and soft but not dark. Set aside.

Heat a generous splash of olive oil with the cumin and cinnamon in a heavy pan. When the pan is hot, add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat until soft, stir once in a while and mind that they don’t turn dark. Add the sweet potato, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze with the orange juice, pour in the wine and water and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the zest and turn the temperature down to a medium-low. Close the pan with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes until the potatoes are just soft but still in shape. Stir in the olives and season to taste, take the pan off the heat, cover and let everything sit for a few minutes.

If the candied peel became hard, put the saucepan back on the heat to soften them. Divide the sweet potatoes between the plates, sprinkle with crushed pepper, candied peel and fresh parsley.