Pan-fried Sweet Potato Cakes

Pan-fried Sweet Potato Cakes with Sriracha Cashew Dipping Sauce recipe
serves 2 as an entree or 6 as an appetizer

After shredding up your sweet potatoes in the food processor, these cakes are a breeze to put together.  Although these look a little like latkes, the inspiration for these cakes was actually pakoras, deep-fried fritters made out of shredded vegetables and held together with chickpea flour (also called besan or garbanzo bean flour).  Chickpea flour is simply ground up chickpeas that can be used in savory recipes often in the place of white flour; just be sure to fully cook it, as raw bean flour tastes gross.  Raw cashews make a creamy dipping sauce while also adding extra protein and good fat so this can really be a balanced weeknight meal.  And sriracha is added because it make everything taste better.

for sweet potato cakes:
2 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 cup of cilantro, finely chopped
1 bunch of scallions, white and dark green parts finely chopped
1 cup chickpea flour (also called garbanzo bean flour)
generous sprinkle of salt and pepper
avocado oil to pan-fry

for dipping sauce:
1 cup of raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes and drained
1/4 cup Sriracha hot sauce
1/2 cup cold water

1. Peel sweet potatoes shred using the food processor or a box grater.

2. Combine shredded sweet potatoes, cilantro, scallions, chickpea flour, and salt in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.  The mixture should hold together when you squeeze it in your hand.

3. Heat a little avocado oil in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet.  Make a test cake: take 2 tablespoons of the mixture and press together compactly.  Flatten into a freeform patty about 1/4” thick. Pan-fry the cake for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown and fully cooked.  Remove from pan and taste for salt. Add more salt to the rest of the mixture if necessary.

4. Make the rest of the cakes and pan-fry them in batches.  Remove to a platter.

5. Make the dipping sauce: Drain cashews from their soaking water and add to the blender with Sriracha and cold water.  Blend until smooth, adding more water if necessary. Serve sweet potato cakes on a platter alongside a small bowl of the cream.