Sweet Potato Latkes

Words, Images & Recipe by Sam Hillman

Much like it’s sweeter more popular cousin, the pancake, the beauty of the latke lies in it’s adaptability. Think of them as a more intrepid version of toast; a blank canvas awaiting the toppings of your choice. A sure fire way to turn breakfast into a Choose Your Own Adventure novel. Smoked salmon? Sliced Avocado? Goats cheese? Pesto? You decide. And if unlike myself, your culinary abilities extend to egg poaching, go for that too.

Note: unlike the pancake, this is one breakfast batter that I can confirm from personal experience does not taste remotely delicious. Be sure to cook them all the way through.

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

1 small brown onion, grated

1 large egg

2 tablespoons of plain flour

2 tsp smoked paprika

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

A scant handful of finely chopped parsley

Optional, but encouraged: crushed clove of garlic

Topping fun!:

The following are recommended. A combination of something green, something creamy and something herby works particularly well. Mix and match as you see fit: Avocado slices, pesto, rocket, fresh basil, chives, poached or soft boiled egg, smoked salmon, crème fraiche, pesto, labne, sour cream.

Method:

Grate the sweet potato with a coarse box grater and squeeze it with your hands to get rid of the excess liquid. Then, in a bowl, combine the grated potato, grated onion, egg, flour, paprika, parsley, salt and pepper.

Heat a little oil in a large, non-stick, heavy based fry pan and fry tablespoons of the mixture at a time, for about three minutes on each side. They may look like they are going to fall apart when you flip them, but if you let them cook long enough they won’t. The trick is to make sure you cook them all the way through, or you’ll be shoveling bits of raw flour mixture. Top as you please.