How do you elevate sweet potatoes from a homely supporting role to a empyrean star-making turn? Yotam Ottolenghi. He is one of the world’s most beloved culinary talents with a wholly original approach to vegetarian cooking. With his Jerusalem cookbook to guide me during my last dinner party, I attempted his recipe of Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fresh Figs. This is a simple dish (sweet potatoes, green onions, figs and balsamic reduction) yet it duped my taste buds. The figs were sweet, moist and ripe. The balsamic reduction was very effective, both for the look and for rounding up the flavours. The unusual combination of fresh fruit and roasted vegetables was delicious and left me wanting more. And it was by far the best thing I ate this month.