Sweet Potato Cakes

The ultimate comfort food: soft, a bit messy and delicious.

For the fritters:
2 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup bread crumbs
one egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoon spring onion, chopped
½ teaspoon fresh chili, finely chopped (or more, to taste)
½ teaspoon cumin, chipotle chili powder or seasoning of your choice (optional)
Lots of butter, for frying (or you can use oil)

For the sauce:
3 Tablespoons  Greek yogurt (or any plain yogurt)
3 Tablespoons  sour cream (if you only have sour cream, or you only have yogurt, 6 T of one of those is fine
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon or lime juice
Salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

Steam the sweet potato until soft, then drain in a colander for an hour. Or, bake them at 375 for 45 min, let cool. Meanwhile, whisk the sauce ingredients until smooth and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine all the fritter ingredients by hand or with a wooden spoon until smooth and even, but don’t over mix.  The mixture should be sticky, so if it’s a little runny, add some flour.
Melt some butter in a nonstick pan or cast iron skillet. For each cake, use a tablespoon to lift some mix into the oan and flatten wit the back of the spoon to create a not-too-perfect disc that is about 2 inches wide and less than ½ inch thick.  Fry on moderate heat until you get a nice, brown crust, turning as necessary – about six minutes. Place between two sheets of paper towel, to soak up the excess butter. Serve hot or warm, with the sauce on the side and a crisp green salad.
Recipe adapted from Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi