MANILA, Philippines -- More and more groups are batting for the intensified planting and consumption of the lowly camote for a number of good reasons.

Among those who are relatively new in advocating the propagation of this root crop are the members of the ladies clubs of the different branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Last Saturday, October 15, the AFP ladies associations conducted a Camote Festival in cooperation with the Mama Sita Foundation which is also strongly supporting the movement. This was at the Daza Park Function Room in Camp Aguinaldo.

One of the highlights of the festival was the holding of a competition in cooking savory dishes as well as sweet preparations of the camote, both the shoots and the roots. We were invited to be one of the judges together with well known culinary experts that included Nora Daza, Sandy Daza, Joel Herrera and Myrna Segismundo.

Four groups competed in the cooking contest. These included those from the Air Force, Navy, Army and the General Headquarters.

The unanimous choice of the judges for the top prize in the savory dish category was the Laing with camote tops prepared by Mrs. Ma. Cleofe Galutira of the Air Force group of ladies. Mrs. Galutira used ingredients that cost only P150 but was enough to serve five diners. The preparation is very simple and can be easily followed by any ordinary homemaker. Best of all, it tastes excellent.

The ingredients include five small bundles of camote tops worth P25, snails (kuhol) worth P25, tinapa also worth P25, coconut milk worth P40, Mama Sita tamarind mix (P10), hot pepper (labuyo) and green pepper (pangsigang type) worth P5, ginger, garlic and onion worth P5 each.

What’s new in Mrs. Galutira’s Laing is the camote tops. Instead of the wilted gabi leaves used in the traditional Laing, she substituted this with camote tops.

The procedure is very simple. Heat one glass of coconut milk over low fire. When it has turned oily, put the garlic, onion and finely chopped ginger. Next, place the meat of the snail previously boiled and removed from its shell. This is followed by tinapa minced into small pieces. After five minutes, put the camote tops that have been cleaned and prepared. Keep boiling until it is fully cooked. No salt is added because the Mama Sita tamarind mix is enough to provide the desired taste.

The Laing with camote tops really tastes terrific with the tinapa and kuhol providing the desirable aroma and taste.

The prize-winning dessert was prepared by Mrs. Peng Lagasca. It’s sweet potato rolls and camote juice. The ingredients are one kilo of camote (boiled and mashed, worth P25), one-half cup sugar (P10), one-fourth butter/margarine (P25), one cup powdered milk (P25) and one bar cheese (P25).

Here’s how to prepare it. Melt butter in a pan over a low fire then add sugar and mashed camote. Add powdered milk stirring constantly to avoid scorching until mixture leaves pan clean. Roll in board then form desired shape and size. Top with grated cheese.

The camote juice is prepared by boiling the desired amount of camote tops, preferably the violet variety so that the juice will be red. After boiling, collect the water, strained and placed in the refrigerator. Add sugar or honey to taste and calamansi juice may be added for additional flavor.

One other savory dish that appealed to us was the “Sopas na manok na may kamote.” The ingredients included one big chicken breast, 2/3 cup of shredded ham, five cups of chicken stock (used for boiling chicken), one regular size onion, one cup camote roots, one-fourth kilo cabbage, two segments of garlic, patis and Mama Sita seasoning.

Boil in enough water and some salt to soften the chicken breast. Shred to small pieces the chicken. Boil the camote roots, remove the skin and mash the same finely. Then sautee in a small amount of cooking oil the garlic, onion and the shredded chicken breast. Put the patis then the shredded ham. After that put the stock used for boiling the chicken. When it is already boiling, add the mashed camote roots and the cabbage that has been sliced into thin and elongated sizes. Keep boiling until the dish is cooked. Serve hot. The recipe was prepared by Mrs. Catalina V. Segaya president of Philippine Navy Enlisted Personnel Ladies’ Club.

Mrs. Blessie Kison, wife of the Armed Forces chief, said they have already planted plenty of camote in the different AFP camps. They recognize the health benefits of eating camote and the economic potentials of this root crop. Families who grow their own camote can save a lot on vegetables for their home use.