Sweet Potato, Zucchini and Kale Bake

This is a healthied-up version of the perennial favourite, potato bake.

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 500 g), peeled and sliced 3 mm thick
2 medium zucchini, sliced 3 mm thick
1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and finely shredded
30 g sesame seeds
60 g almonds
3 cloves garlic
300 ml plant milk
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp savoury yeast flakes/nutritional yeast
400 g cooked, drained lima beans
30 g polenta (course cornmeal, available in the health food section of the supermarket, or from better greengrocers)

Method:

Steam sweet potato slices for 10 minutes. Add zucchini slices and steam for a further 5 minutes. Steam kale separately for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Meanwhile, grind sesame seeds to a fine powder in a food processor or high-powered blender. Add almonds and grind to a fine powder. Add garlic, plant milk, spices and savoury yeast flakes and blend until creamy. Pour into a pan, add drained, steamed kale and cook, stirring, over low heat until sauce thickens. Mash lima beans roughly and add to sauce.

(If you have a Thermomix, you can blend all the sauce ingredients, then add de-stemmed kale, chop on speed 6 for 7 seconds, using the spatula to push the kale down into the blades, then cook at 100°C on speed 2 for 8 minutes. Add lima beans and mix on speed 6 for 5 seconds.)

Spread 1/4 of the kale sauce on the bottom of a round, deep casserole dish. Arrange 1/2 of the sweet potato slices on top of the sauce. Spread another 1/4 of the sauce on the sweet potato slices, then arrange the zucchini slices on top. Spread another 1/4 of the sauce, then arrange the remaining sweet potato slices on top. Spread remaining sauce on top, sprinkle with polenta, and bake for 30 minutes or until polenta is just beginning to brown.