Chilli Roasted Oca with Hedgerow Pesto – Two Recipes for the Price of One
CT has been interested in The Lost Crops of the Incas for a very long time. One he’s been growing over the years is oca (Oxalis tuberosa). I was recently gifted a kilo of beautifully coloured oca tubers from The Guild of Oca Breeders. This was a rare treat as I hardly ever get to try any of CT’s precious tubers. You can prepare them in pretty much anyway you’d cook a potato, but I like them best roasted. Here I give you my recipe for a quick and simple dish of chilli roasted oca with hedgerow pesto.
People often ask me what oca taste like. My best description, in fact my only one, is that they are sort of like a slightly lemony potato. They come in a variety of colours and some taste more lemony than others. Like potatoes some have a waxy texture and some are floury. They are all delicious. In my experience, the white ones seem to be the flouriest and have virtually no tang at all and the bright pink ones, the most lemony. In the batch I cooked for the chilli roasted oca, it was the orange ones that were the sharpest.
Oca has been grown in the Andes for thousands of years. It’s important there for enhancing food security with its high nutritional content. It also helps control pests and diseases by improving crop rotations. It’s second only to the potato in the number of tubers grown. Oca is a good source of Vitamins A, B and C as well as iron, zinc flavanoids and fibre. In New Zealand, tubers are also widely available but are known as yams.
We’ve already got potatoes, so why do we need oca you may well ask? Variety is the spice of life and it’s always good to have some alternatives. They are a valued crop back in Peru and Bolivia, even though they have plenty of potatoes. But the key to oca is that, unlike potatoes, they don’t get blight.
A couple of years ago CT and a group of like minded oca enthusiasts decided that trying to grow bigger oca that tuberised in the UK growing season was more than one person could cope with on their own. The Guild of Oca Breeders was born. Their mission? ” To breed a variety of oca that responds much better to European variations in day length and climate”. Oca’s are daylight sensitive, as was the original potato. Left to their own devices, they don’t start to tuberise until the days and nights are of equal length, i.e. in September and October. By then, it’s too late in our season for them to grow to a decent size. The Guild are breeding new varieties and selecting the best producers in an attempt to recify this problem.
Ocas aren’t easy to find, but they are becoming more widely available in the UK these days. Look out for them at farmer’s markets. I even saw some for sale in a small Cornish shop a couple of months ago. If you’d like to try growing some of your own, you can buy carefully selected tubers from The Guild of Oca Breeders. You’re unlikely to be able to source such good specimens from anywhere else. If you’re a keen grower and would like to get involved in breeding ocas, the Guild are always looking for new members.
So back to the recipe for chilli roasted oca tubers. They make a delicious and easy meal with wild garlic and hazelnut pesto and some sort of green on the side. We accompanied them with a few Brussels sprouts that were loitering in the fridge. I made the pesto with roasted hazelnuts and the first foraged wild garlic of the year. The slight sharpness from the chilli roasted oca cuts through the richness of the pesto and makes a perfect accompaniment.
I used my Optimum G2.3 induction blender to make the pesto. It made quick work of blending the wild garlic and hazelnuts. I roasted the ocas in my Optimum HealthyFry, but they can be done just as well in the oven. The oca’s bright colours fade a little during roasting, but they still look attractive and appetising, though I do say so myself.
- 100 g wild garlic - well washed and dried
- 100 g hazelnuts - roasted
- 75 g Parmesan or vegetarian equivalent
- 75 ml olive oil
- pinch of sea salt
- 500 g oca tubers - well scrubbed
- 1 tsp rapeseed oil
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- pinch of sea salt
- Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender until just combined. I used my Optimum G2.3 induction blender.
- Spoon into clean jars and keep in the fridge for up to a week.
- Mix the oil, chilli flakes and salt together in a bowl then add the tubers and stir until all are coated.
- Roast the oca in an air fryer at or an oven at 180℃ for 15-18 minutes, depending on size. You may need a little longer if using a conventional oven. I used my Optimum HealthyFry. They should be soft all the way through when pierced with a knife.
- Spoon a little of the pesto over the ocas and enjoy with some greens on the side.
The hedgerow pesto recipe makes enough for 2 small jars.
I’m sending this recipe for chilli roasted oca with hedgerow pesto to Jac at Tinned Tomatoes for Meat Free Mondays.
This is really the end of Brussels sprout season and mine were only just hanging on in there. I had to take an extra layer or two off them, but they were saved from the compost heap. So I’m sending this post to Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary for No Food Waste Challenge.
Other recipes for pesto you might like
- Basil & pistachio pesto via Greedy Gourmet
- Carrot top pesto via Fuss Free Flavours
- Cavolo nero & hazelnut pesto via Family Friends Food
- Fat hen & chickweed pesto via Tin and Thyme
- Hemp seed pesto via Rough Measures
- Parsley & almond pesto via Tin and Thyme
- Spinach and pea pesto via Tinned Tomatoes
- Wild garlic pesto two ways via Tin and Thyme
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With the festive season just starting, I’m getting in the mood. Chilling out with a glass of very chilled sherry, as I write my Christmas cards.
A glorious December day watching the boats and birds and listening to the haunting sound of masts and rigging moaning in the wind.
If you thought sherry was just for Christmas, you’d be wrong. I’ve been enjoying it quite a lot recently, cold with plenty of ice and a slice of orange. That’s the new way to serve it, apparently and I heartily approve. In fact the Spanish have been keeping their sherry in the fridge for a long time now - I’m only just catching up.
Chocolate Recipes Galore
Angie@Angie's Recipes
7th March 2017
Saw oca on a local channel the other day and was wondering where I can find them…and today your beautiful recipe just popped up in my Feedly…now I really need to find them!
Choclette
7th March 2017
Thanks Angie. They’re not easy to find unless you grow your own, but you might strike lucky at a farmer’s market or organic shop.
Helen @ family-friends-food.com
7th March 2017
I’ve never even heard of oca before, but it looks and sounds delicious! I’ll have to look out for it. Or maybe even have a go at growing it myself…
Choclette
7th March 2017
Ooh, now growing them yourself would be something Helen. They aren’t difficult to grow as such, they just need a very long season, so if you do grow some, get them in as soon as you can. The plants are attractive too.
Angela
7th March 2017
These little tubers are so cute, I’m sure I’ve had something similar that my boyfriend’s Dad used to grow on his allotment. They remind me a bit of jerusalem artichokes as well. Lovely recipes.
Choclette
7th March 2017
It’s the sort of thing experimental gardeners like to grow, so you may well have had them before. I know what you mean about Jerusalem artichokes, but they’re not particularly similar and definitely don’t have the same effects 😉
Laura@howtocookgoodfood
7th March 2017
I am fascinated by oca, never heard of them before now so I need to keep my eyes peeled for them. I wonder of they will be more widely available soon? If not I’ll need to order some to try for myself!
Choclette
7th March 2017
I’m sure you’d be able to source them somewhere in London Laura. Definitely worth trying if you can find them. They deserve to be much better known.
Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet
7th March 2017
Never heard of ocas before but would love to try them! Going traveling just makes your realise how limited range of foods are available in supermarkets. The planet has so much more to offer.
Choclette
7th March 2017
It really does Michelle. The trouble is, unless people start demanding unfamiliar veg, the supermarkets will never stock them.
Elinor Kugler
7th March 2017
Ooh, they sound perfect roasted! I’m yet to try one, but love the sound of a lemony potato! 🙂 Will have to get my hands on them, and try out your recipe.
Choclette
7th March 2017
Thanks Elinor. They aren’t the easiest thing to get hold of, but it is possible. Well worth the effort.
Kate | Veggie Desserts
7th March 2017
Oca look so beautiful! I love the sound of that hedgerow pesto as well.
Choclette
7th March 2017
They do come in gorgeous colours and I’m with you on the pesto – so good!
Pretty
7th March 2017
This is a vegetable I haven’t come across before, will have to look out for it in the supermarkets. this recipe looks great. I love pesto with roasted vegetables.
Choclette
7th March 2017
You won’t find oca in supermarkets or I very much doubt you will, but you might get lucky at farmer’s markets or organic shops.
Jan Bennett
9th March 2017
I’d never heard of oca before – I’m now on a mission to find them!
Choclette
9th March 2017
Good luck Jan. They’re not easy to find, but it is possible. Try farmer’s markets and independent green grocers or organic shops.
Eb Gargano
9th March 2017
Wow – this looks fab! I’ve never heard of ocas before, but they look beautiful and I love your take on pesto! Eb x
Choclette
10th March 2017
Thanks Eb. I get very excited by the emergence of the first wild garlic leaves and pesto is a must.
Janice
9th March 2017
I love the look of these little jewel-like potatoes, I’d love to try them. Maybe one day!
Choclette
10th March 2017
With your early spring flowers Janice, you might be in just the right place to grow them 🙂
Lucy
9th March 2017
I really would love to try oca. I will see if they have any in our local farm shop, they grow quite a lot of different veg in the farm there. Love the sound of the pesto too!
Choclette
10th March 2017
Good luck Lucy. I hope you find some. They are well worth trying and the more people that ask for them, the more likely they are to become available.
David @ CookingChat
10th March 2017
Wow, what an interesting combo! Never heard of oca before.
Choclette
10th March 2017
Yes, it’s not the sort of veg you’re likely to find in the supermarkets, but I’ve seen it for sale in a few independent greengrocers.
Dom
12th March 2017
I kept seeing these all over Facebook last week and every time I see them I think of pigs i blankets but I know you’d never give us that so I was so intrigued. Aren’t they beautiful and parculiar. I really want to try them and with that stunning pesto too!
Choclette
14th March 2017
Haha an OCA takeover of Facebook – brilliant. They are delicious and well worth trying if you can get hold of them, which living in London I’m sure you can.
Jacqueline Meldrum
12th March 2017
Aren’t they pretty? I’ve not heard of them before, but I am liking the sound of a lemony flavour. Thanks for adding them to this week’s Meat Free Mondays. Stumbled, flipped and tweeted 🙂
Choclette
14th March 2017
Thanks Jac. They are lovely and quite delicious too. They’re a high treat for me as I rarely get to try any of the ones CT grows.
Kate - gluten free alchemist
12th March 2017
What a fascinating post. I have never heard of Oca, but they are so beautiful! And cooked they look amazing. I would love to try them…… I will be seeking them out for sure x
Choclette
14th March 2017
Good luck Kate. They are well worth trying if you can find them – quite delicious, especially when cooked like this 🙂
Cathy @ Planet Veggie
16th March 2017
I saw these when you posted the on Instagram. They reminded me of baby gerbils 🙂
Choclette
16th March 2017
Ah noooooo Cathy. I don’t want to think of baby gerbils when I eat oca 🙁
Elizabeth
5th April 2017
What a fascinating ingredient! I’ve never heard of oca before but they sound so interesting and tasty! LOVE your hedgerow pesto too! Thanks for sharing with the no waste food challenge! 🙂
Choclette
6th April 2017
Thanks Elizabeth. Oca are delicious and I believe some of the gang are growing them in Scotland, so keep a look out.
Nico @ yumsome
6th April 2017
I thought I’d already commented on this post… how very remiss of me!
To say that these oca look delicious would be the most ridiculous understatement – they look amazing! And so beautiful too. All those colours – like little knobbly jewels. I would quite happily eat a plate of this, with nothing else, barring a smidge of sea salt and some black pepper. Yum!
Choclette
6th April 2017
Well thanks for paying it another a visit 🙂 Oca tubers really are very pretty, especially when you have a variety of colours. When CT first started growing them, he only had the small pink ones, which was all I ever saw for years.
Jo / Jo's Kitchen Larder
30th January 2018
What a great insight into this gorgeous knobbly veggie 🙂 Many different colours as well! I was pretty excited to see these in my veg box and can’t wait to roast them for dinner tomorrow. I wish I had some wild garlic to make your gorgeous pesto too!
Choclette
30th January 2018
Aw thanks Jo.They’re a much underrated tuber and quite delicious, though personally I prefer the less lemony ones. Any pesto would work, though I’m looking forward to the wild garlic season coming soon 😀