This is a great addition to barbecue food! Cut the vegetables into big bold pieces for the best effect and ease of cooking.2 medium peppers, deseeded and cut into chunky wedges
3 courgettes or 1 medium egg plant, cut into 1 cm thick slices or slabs
2 onions, cut into wedges
8-10 whole unpeeled cloves of garlic
2 medium kumara, peeled and sliced into 1/2 cm thick slabs (optional)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp brown sugar
freshly ground black pepper

Place all the prepared vegetables in a baking dish. When cutting the onions, leave part of the base on so the wedge stays together when cooked. Combine the oil, crushed garlic, sugar and pepper. Stir into the vegetables to evenly coat. Cook on a medium to hot barbecue plate for about 10 minutes or until tender.

Serves 4-6.

700g Meadow Mushrooms White Button or Swiss Brown - quartered
500g Sweet As! Red Kumara - peeled and 1cm dice
250g bacon - small dice
250g onion - small dice
2 tbsp garlic - finely diced
3 tbsp fresh thyme - finely chopped
4 eggs
¾ cup flour
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
salt & black pepper to taste
cooking oil & butter

In a saucepan add diced kumara and cover with salted cold water and put over high heat. Bring to boil and cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Strain and cool.

Bring another saucepan to the heat, add a little cooking oil, when hot, add bacon, onion, garlic and thyme. Cook for 10 minutes until the onion is soft before adding mushrooms. Cook for 20 minutes until cooking liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat, cool then place in a bowl with kumara.

For the batter whisk the eggs and flour to a thick, smooth consistency. Pour over mushroom and kumara mix add chilli sauce and season. To cook heat up the griddle top of your BBQ to medium heat. Add a little oil and butter then spoon out the fritters. Cook until golden one side and turn. Keep warm until all are cooked.

Serving suggestion: on their own with a small salad, with salsa, poached eggs and Hollandaise. Omit bacon and add 250gm more mushrooms for a vegetarian option.

Serves 4.

Recipe by Al Brown

1 tblspn olive oil
500g boneless chicken thighs, cut into large chunks
500g red kumara
onion, sliced
1/4 cup red curry paste
400g tin low-fat coconut milk
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons chopped basil leavesHeat the oil in a frying pan. Add the chicken and cook it over a high heat until it is golden brown.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion to the pan and cook it for a further 3-4 minutes.
Add the red curry paste and cook for another minute.
Add the red kumara, coconut milk, water and fish sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the kumara is soft.
Stir in the basil.
Serve with rice and green beans.
Serves 6.

Leaving the skin on the kumara adds fibre, flavour and is a lot less work!4-5 medium kumara (about 650g)
3 cups broccoli florets
1 cup chopped fresh parsley or very finely chopped spinach
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
100g freshly cooked or marinated mussels (OR 6-8 olives, sliced)
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup bought vinaigrette OR 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 tbsp light olive oil
2 tbsp wine vinegar or lemon juice
2 tsp sugar

Wash and scrub the kumara. Cut into generous chunks, leaving the skin on. Steam or microwave for 5-6 minutes or until barely softened. Add the broccoli and continue cooking for 3 minutes, or until tender. Place in a serving dish. Top with the parsley, mint and mussels or olives. In a screw top jar combine the garlic with the bought vinaigrette OR all the remaining ingredients, shake well. Pour over the kumara. Serve hot, or at room temperature.Serves 4.

The richness of the beetroot, the tangy flavour of horseradish and the mellow taste of the kumara make this combination truly special.2 medium gold or orange kumara, sliced
2 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
3 beetroot, unpeeled and cut into wedges
8 whole button mushrooms
2 tsp horseradish sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar
freshly ground black pepperPlace the prepared vegetables in a baking dish. When cutting the onions, leave part of the base on so the wedge stays together when cooked. Combine the horseradish, oil, lemon juice, sugar and pepper.
Pour over the vegetables. Mix to evenly coat. Bake at 200°C for 25-35 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Alternatively cook on a medium to hot barbecue plate for about 10-15 minutes or until tender.
Serves 4.

Served hot or cold, this slice is terrific family food! Works well with orange, gold or red kumara.500g sausage meat
1 onion, finely chopped
2 medium sized kumara (500g), grated (orange, gold or red)
1 apple, unpeeled and grated
1 cup grated tasty cheese
4 eggs, beaten
freshly ground black pepper
ground nutmeg

With wet hands line a 23cm diameter quiche dish with the sausage meat. Place the onion, kumara, apple, cheese and beaten eggs in a bowl and mix well. Pile into the sausage meat case. Gently press down. Sprinkle with the nutmeg and freshly ground black pepper. Bake at 180°C for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and set in the middle.Serves 4.

1kg Orange Kumara, peeled
1/2 tspn salt
100g butter
500ml milk
500g tarakihi or snapper
75g butter, extra
1 medium-sized white onion, peeled and diced fi nely
75g fl our
100ml cream
100g prawns
1 tblspn fi nely chopped parsley
6 eggs, boiled for 8 minutes and peeled
parsley to garnishSlice Orange Kumara into 1cm-wide circles. Cook the kumara in plenty of salted simmering water for about 20 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a knife. Drain well.
Leave the kumara to cool, then puree in a food processor with the salt and butter. Set aside.
Heat the milk to a gentle simmer. Add the fish and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until it is cooked through. Scoop fish out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Set aside the milk also.
In a fresh pot, melt the butter, add the onions and sweat them for 5 minutes. Add fl our and stir for a further 2 minutes.
Gradually add the milk to the fl our mix, stirring continuously.
Stir in cream and prawns, bring to boil and remove from heat.
Flake fish into the sauce and add the parsley. Slice the boiled eggs in half, add them to the pie and stir gently to combine.
Spoon the pie mixture into a 26cm-diameter pie dish. Using a spatula, smooth the pureed kumara evenly over the top. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve piping hot.
Serves 6.

Roast kumara is everyone's favourite - these
delicious honey roasted kumara are perfect straight from the oven, or cooled to serve as a salad.3-4 medium kumara (600 grams), sliced thinly (1/2 cm thick)
1-2 red or green peppers, cut into chunky wedges
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp runny honey
lettuce leaves to serve (optional)

Place the vegetables in a roasting pan. Combine the lemon juice, oil and honey. Pour over the vegetables and marinate for an hour if possible. Bake at 200°C for 20-25 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Serve either as is, or cool slightly and toss through lettuce leaves.Serves 4-6.

400g Red Kumara, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tblspn oil
500g lamb, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 1/2 tspn Moroccan seasoning
1/2 tspn each: ground cumin, ground coriander
2 tspn chopped coriander
2 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
1 beaten egg, for glazingPreheat the oven to 200°C.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the lamb and cook it in batches over a medium heat until it has browned. Remove the lamb from the pan and set it aside.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the lamb back to the pan with the Red Kumara, tomatoes, water, Moroccan seasoning, cumin and coriander and simmer for 25 minutes, or until sauce is thick and kumara is cooked through. Stir in the chopped coriander.
Place the lamb and kumara mixture into four 2-cup capacity ovenproof bowls or pie dishes. Cut pastry to fit top of dishes.
Brush the rim of the dishes with the beaten egg. Place the pastry over the dishes and seal the edges by pressing them with a fork. Cut slits in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg.
Bake the pies in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.
Serves 4.