By Ceri Wilkin, Miss August 2014

I moved away from the country in which I was born in my early 20’s. Along with a sense of adventure, fun and excitement, I felt a touch of homesickness, naturally for family, friends, and the familiar, but also for foods I had grown up with.

My friend and I were a bit of an oddity in Lake Charles, Louisiana, not only talking with a strong and unusual accent, but also using different and unusual words. The telephone line wasn’t busy, it was engaged and we filled our chilly bin with ice and drinks. My friend eventually moved back to New Zealand to be with her boyfriend, but as I had traveled half way around the world to see and experience the USA, I stayed – and moved up one whole state, but a world away, to Arkansas.

My first time back to New Zealand, I loaded up with cheese that squeezed out of a can, Oreo cookies and every imaginable peanut butter and chocolate combination, to the delight of my friends and family. While there, my mealtime desires would be satisfied for a time, and I returned bearing every food I was allowed within the bounds of traveling internationally. I even attempted to bring a Kumara, or native sweet potato, into the country, but my conscience insisted I declare it, and of course it was taken away by the customs officials.

Pumpkins that were familiar, which I would roast or turn into soup, not just decorate with around Fall and Halloween, recently started to appear at our local farmers market, and New Zealand wines are readily available at our local liquor store. Then to my great delight, I found in a supermarket right around the corner from where I live, disguised as a Japanese Sweet Potato, the staple vegetable of every roast dinner I had growing up, Kumara. It was wonderful to find locally, what I had been missing from across the globe.

Kumara Salad

1 kg Kumara, peeled and chopped into 2 cm pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 rashers of bacon

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

4 spring onions, sliced

Heat the oven to 200C. Toss the Kumara in the olive oil and place in a single layer in a roasting dish. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes until kumara is golden and tender.

Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan over high heat and cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from heat and chop into pieces.

Place the honey, mustard and vinegar in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream while continuing to whisk.

Toss the kumara, bacon, and spring onion together in a bowl, drizzle over the dressing and stir to combine.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Foodtown Magazine, April/May 2007