Sweet Potato Cakes with Lime and Avocado

It’s a good time to be a vegetarian. Meatless products are multiplying on grocery store shelves—there’s even vegan ham now! ham!—and most restaurants these days have several options on the menu for those of us who don’t eat meat. Whether you choose to abstain for ethical reasons or your health, being a vegetarian is easier than ever.

Still, some people remain skeptical at the prospect of cutting down on their meat consumption. “What do you eat?” they ask. I’m always kind of taken aback by that question, because cutting out meat still leaves a lot of options! And when people ask me for advice about going veg, I always tell them to focus on what they can eat, not what they can’t.

If you focus on making substitutions (yes, even that glorious vegan ham), you’re sure to be disappointed. But if you embrace fruits and vegetables and grains as being delicious in their own right, you’ll never miss the meat.

Alice Hart’s Good Veg is a cookbook that supports this idea. Full of bright colors and bold flavors, the recipes in this book are a celebration of vegetarian cooking. Unapologetic vegetarian goodness! For spring time, I love the Penne with Asparagus Pesto and White Beans, and I have my eye on the Roasted Broccoli Tart with a Cauliflower Crust for Easter brunch. There’s an entire chapter on raw foods that’s perfect for summer when you don’t want to cook.

And then there’s this recipe for Sweet Potato Cakes. Crispy, spicy sweet potatoes are topped with mashed avocado and fresh lime juice. Add an egg on top for some protein and you’ve got yourself a balanced weekend breakfast. Who needs bacon?

Purchase Good Veg: Ebullient Vegetables, Global Flavors—A Modern Vegetarian Cookbook on Amazon.com

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Sweet Potato Cakes with Lime and Avocado

Recipe from Good Veg: Ebullient Vegetables, Global Flavors—A Modern Vegetarian Cookbook © Alice Hart, 2016, 2017. Photographs copyright © Emma Lee, 2016, 2017. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold. theexperimentpublishing.com

Servings 4 servings

Author Kiersten

Ingredients

• 3 medium sweet potatoes peeled and coarsely grated (about 4 cups/600 g)
• 1 small red onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1- inch 2.5 cm piece fresh ginger root, peeled and finely grated
• 2 tablespoons brown rice flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 red chiles 1 finely chopped and 1 finely sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Large handful of cilantro leaves roughly chopped
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons 90 ml olive oil or coconut butter, melted
• 2 ripe avocados halved and pitted
• 2 limes 1 juiced and 1 quartered
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 red chiles 1 finely chopped and 1 finely sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Large handful of cilantro leaves roughly chopped
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons 90 ml olive oil or coconut butter, melted
• 2 ripe avocados halved and pitted
• 2 limes 1 juiced and 1 quartered

Instructions

1. Using a colander held under a cool tap, rinse the grated sweet potatoes until the water runs mostly clear. Squeeze the rinsed gratings in a clean kitchen towel to remove excess water, then transfer them into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, rice flour, cornstarch, the chopped chile, salt and pepper to taste, about 1 tablespoon of the cilantro and 2 tablespoons of the oil, and mix everything well.
3. Divide the remaining oil between 11⁄2 × 6-inch (4 × 15 cm) cast-iron or heavy-bottomed frying pans—or a 9-inch (23 cm) pan to make a large cake—and place over high heat. Add one quarter of the potato mixture to each pan, or all of it to the large pan (it should sizzle loudly) and flatten firmly with a spatula. Reduce the heat to medium.
4. Cook each cake for 3 to 5 minutes (perhaps slightly longer for the larger version), then run a palette knife or spatula around the edge, transfer each cake out on to a flat plate, then slide back into its pan the other way up. (Don’t attempt to flip these unless you’re a black belt.) Return to the heat for about 3 minutes more until the underside is nicely browned.
5. Scoop the avocados out of their skins with a spoon and mash roughly with a little lime juice, the remaining cilantro, sliced chile and seasoning to taste. Serve each hot sweet potato cake with the avocado mixture spooned on top and lime quarters to squeeze over.

Recipe Notes

You can fold three lightly beaten eggs into the sweet potato mixture, though those cakes will be frittata-esque in style, or balance a poached egg on top (with the avocado, of course, and some hot sauce).