Kitchen Anugraha: Sweet Potato Muffins

I am a huge fan of Jamie Oliver - I love him, his energy, his passion for food, his lisp, his accent - everything about him. In fact, he is my number one Englishman! Ha ha ha! When the girls at work wanted to raise money for RSPCA cup cake day, I knew that everyone would be bringing sweet cakes and muffins. So I decided that I would take a punt and go to Jamie for ideas. And I was not disappointed. These little beauties are healthy and very yummy and I got a few recipe requests. So here goes - yes, I changed the recipe a bit and yes, this is exactly how I made them! Needless to say, thank you, Jamie - and they were all gone in less than 15 minutes. I did get one complaint from one of the ladies about being bitten by a chilli!

Ingredients

600 g sweet potatoes - peeled and grated
4 spring onions - chopped finely
3 fresh red chillies - chopped finely with a few roundels reserved for decorating
6 large free-range eggs
3 tablespoons cottage cheese
200 g wholemeal self-raising flour
50 g oat bran
50 g Chilli Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

2. Add grated sweet potatoes into a large bowl. Add chopped spring onions and half the chopped chilli, reserving the roundels for later.

3. Crack in the eggs, add the cottage cheese, flour and bran, then finely grate in most of the cheddar and season with sea salt and black pepper. Mix until nicely combined.

4. Evenly divide the muffin mixture between the cases. Sprinkle over the sunflower and poppy seeds, then dot over the reserved slices of chilli.

5. Use the remaining Cheddar to give a light dusting of cheese over each one, then bake at the bottom of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden and set.