This delicious salad is taken from our book of the week, Reuben Cooks Local.  Not only is sweet potato a much-loved South African ingredient, but the moskonfyt and brandy add exceptional local flavour to this dish. The blue cheese sauce is incredibly versatile and is also excellent served with steak or sautéed chicken livers. And with both sweet potatoes and pears coming into seasons, this is a perfect for autumn recipe. Experiment with different types of sweet potato, the orange and yellow flesh potatoes have a much earthier flavour than the purple skin variety.

1 pear, preferably Bosc
2 medium sweet potatoes, one orange and 1 yellow if you can
3T  olive oil
1t  salt
1t  black pepper
±2T pecan nuts
60g frisée lettuce, baby spinach leaves or rocket
1t extra virgin olive oil
½t Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

Brandy and Blue Cheese Dressing

1/4 cup ceam
1t brandy
75g creamy blue cheese
1t moskonfyt or quince jelly

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Peel the pear and the sweet potatoes. Slice into rounds about 1½cm thick. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the sweet potato in the oven for about 10 minutes, then put in the pear slices on the same tray. Roast until it has turned a dark caramel colour and is cooked.
• Dress the nuts and the frisée with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.
• To serve, divide the sweet potato and pear between two plates. Squeeze blobs of brandy and blue cheese dressing on and in between them. Arrange the nuts and frisée on the plates and serve immediately.

Brandy and Blue Cheese Dressing:

• Place the cream, brandy, blue cheese and moskonfyt in a blender and process until very smooth. Pour into a squeeze bottle.

(Serves 2)

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.