sweet potato cakes

Two things you should know before you embark on yet another delectable recipe from the ever-wise, rightfully-adored, Mr Ottolenghi.

The key, as suggested in the headnote in the book, is to fry them in "plenty of butter", an instruction guaranteed to send me into a state of mild panic, thus I cheated with a mixture of butter and oil. No great loss, but next time I'll be brave and go for more butter than I might, ordinarily, think sensible, as the richness of the fat in which they are fried contibutes volumes to the whole. Anyways, point two is this. Should you be stuck for what to feed people during Passover, may I recommend these little golden cakes? If you sub fine matzoh meal for the flour, they tick every kosher-ma-fied box I can find, and who (apart from silly old me) doesn't love sweet potato?

Comments

[Denise]

I do love sweet potatoes, but I've never eaten them in tasty little cake form. I'll have to try this, in "plenty of butter".

[Sally - My Custard Pie]

Never panic over butter. I haven't tried these yet but everything I cook from this book is worth making.

[Ro]

Are you not allowed to eat certain foods during passover? How long does that last for? Excuse my ignorance!

[Lucy]

ro: well i, being not-jewish can eat whatever i like, but as chief cook and bottlewasher, i end up eating whatever they eat. my understanding of it's pretty basic, and they are very liberal, so we mix up the rules a bit: basically, nothing that's "risen" (no bread) and nothing that can "ferment" (which is a hell of a lot of other stuff). i kinda look at it as a week of eating gluten-free if that makes sense, and it offers a cook challenges that are, in a way, fun.

anyone else able to explain it better? would love to hear.

[Ro]

Interesting to see how we spiritualize food.

[Caz]

My whole family adore sweet potatoes and any kind of fritter/patty so these will definately find an appreciative audience at our place!

[Hotel Guide]

I've been on a potato diet this past few days and I guess i should try this sweet potato cakes.

[Ali]

sweet potatoes AND plenty of butter?
now really, what could possibly be bad about any of that?
i generally have good quantities of both those ingredients on hand at any given moment.
you are so inspiring about food, my friend. i love how you write about it, waft around it...

[Georgia]

Ooh yes please! There's something delightful about just seeing the words 'plenty of butter' 'sweet potato'and 'little golden cakes' all in the one place.

[Nicole Smith]

I used to have my sweet potatoes dipped in a cooking oil with salt. That was when I was little. Now I have it with lots of butter, and I always asked my mom to make me sweet potato fries. You should try it, they're delish.