Everyone in my home loves Sweet Potato Latkes, even my littlest ones. Savory, aromatic, and melt-in-your mouth delicious, they are oh so satisfying — particularly when fried in a flavorful fat like coconut oil or bacon grease.
These latkes use just a hint of buckwheat flour & eggs to hold them together. Contrary to it’s name, buckwheat is not a cereal grain. It’s the seed of a flower, and it can be ground fine into a powder. It also happens to be gluten-free and relatively low in phytic acids, so it’s easier for our bodies to digest.
The Players
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, grated
- 1 scallion or green onion
- 1 egg (from pastured hens!)
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup sprouted buckwheat flour
- 1/4 cup of extra virgin coconut oil or bacon grease (yes, these are HEALTHY fats!)
The How-To
Begin by grating your sweet potatoes and gathering your ingredients. These will come together quickly, so it helps to be prepared!
Next, chop up your scallion (I use the whole plant, minus the roots at the end). In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped scallion with the egg.
Now, add in your salt, pepper, & flour and stir until well mixed.
Now for the fun part. Add your grated sweet potatoes to your flour mixture and mix it together well. I use my hands for this, as it helps to sqeeze moisture out of the sweet potatoes and make sure all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
In a skillet, heat the oil over a high flame until hot but not smoking. Whatever you do, don’t use a flavorless fat like lard for this. These latkes are what they are because of all the great tasting fat they soak up when frying! So use an aromatic, flavorful oil like unrefined coconut oil or bacon grease. In this example, I’m using coconut oil.
Form the sweet potatoes into patties and place in your heated oil.
Turn the flame down to medium and let cook until golden, then flip and cook the other side until golden. When done, remove to a serving plate. After they’ve cooled for a minute or so, serve them with a dollop of cultured sour cream or creme fraiche on top.
This post is my entry into the Fight Back Fridays blog carnival of Real Food Lovin’ links. If you’re interested in finding other delicious recipes, meal ideas, testimonies, tips, or stories about people resisting the dominate food culture and choosing Real Food, be sure to check it out!
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Can you tell me about that beautiful pan?
Local Nourishment
yeah, my mouth is droooling..not just watering! Just found out what we’re having for lunch, thanks!
vehement flame
How did you know I love sweet potatoes! I’m definitely trying this. They will make good heat-in-a-toaster-oven lunch options.
Thanks!
Spinner
These look absolutely delicious- but 2 questions:
1. shredded sweet potatoes? I’ve never done that- just peel and shred raw?
2. the buckwheat flour- do you get that at a health food store? I’ve never bought it.
Thanks! I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Local Nourishment — Not much to tell. It’s something my mother bought for me a few years back — basically a 4 inch deep skillet with a lid. It’s got some sort of non-stick coating, so it’s really not ideal cookware. I’m hoping to replace it with a similar stainless steel pan soon, but don’t know when that will be.
Angela — Yep. Just grate raw sweet potatoes just like you would potatoes to make hashbrowns. As to the sprouted buckwheat flour, I make that the same way I do all my flours — sprout it, dry it, & grind it fresh (a lot cheaper and more nutrient-dense that way). That said, I’ve seen unsprouted buckwheat flour on the flour aisle at my local grocery store, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be hard to find. Plus, you really could use any flour. I’m just going grain-free for a season, and this is a fairly suitable alternative to cereal grains (particularly if used sparingly).
mmmm, I love sweet potato and I love potato cakes. This should be a winner!
Fumi
YUM! oh my gosh! those sound delicious!!!
These sound amazing, and I am over the moon that I stumbled onto your site and found this recipe.
lizriz
These sound wonderful. I’m sure the coconut oil adds to the aroma as they’re cooking. I’ve got buckwheat flour in the freezer, but I’m out of sweet potatoes … so they’ll have to wait for the next trip to the grocery store.
Shari Voigt
can’t wait to try it. Thanks
we made these for lunch- added aome cajun season- real good stuff! Thanks!
vehement flame
Lizriz — Thanks for stopping by. Hope you stick around for a while and make yourself at home!
Vehement flame — Yes, these lend themselves well to variation. I could totally imagine doing a chipotle cilantro version.
Your website is so wonderful. I have enjoyed everything that I have read and seen here. These look DELICIOUS! I will definitely try them. I really liked the chipotle cilantro idea. Going to the market today. Thanks!!
Is that a chotki bracelet in the mixing photo?
R.A. — Yes. That used to be obvious on my About page, but I guess I took it off at some point because it wasn’t particularly relevant to the site.
These looked so delicious, I had to try them right away! I didn’t have buckwheat, so I substituted with spelt. I was a little worried that they wouldn’t stay in patty form, but once they started frying in the pan (in coconut oil) they stayed together just fine. They were absolutely delicious and my husband, who typically doesn’t care for sweet potatoes, loved them! Thanks so much!
These look delicious!! I liked the part about how lard is tasteless. I never could figure out why things just don’t taste as yummy when I use lard.
Is there a variation that would make them taste similar to candied sweet potatoes?
Ooh, or maybe like sweet potato fries you can dip in a sour cream with onion n spices sauce…. That would go over well with children, I bet!
Happy Spring, Everyone!
Roxanne
http://stores.ebay.com/TIN-SIGNS-and-THINGS-4-U
Thanks Kristen.
I never would have thought about grating sweet potatoes, but since they are one of my favorite root crops, I’m looking forward to trying this one.
I’ve been using coconut oil for several months now and my wife loves the smell. I’ve found it adds a unique flavor to some dishes, but appears to add none to others. My primary reason for using it, is because it doesn’t break down at high temperatures like olive oil. Which makes it perfect for stir-fry.
Thanks for the info on buckwheat – something else I didn’t know. One of the many reasons I love the Internet is learning new things.
Rod Newbound, RN
Sasch — It’s great to know these work with spelt. I imagine they’d also work with coconut flour and an extra egg for those who want to avoid anything grain-like! Anyhow, I know how you feel about worrying that they’ll stay together! The first time I made these, I was sure they weren’t going to. But just like you, I discovered they did!
Rod — I love coconut oil, too. I just found a fantastic deal on Tropical Tradition’s gallon-sized extra virgin gold standard oil, and WOW. It’s the best tasting coconut oil I’ve ever had!
These are on the menu for tonight! I forgot to buy any sour cream, so I’m thinking about throwing together some creme fraiche… but with only 5 hours to culture it, I might just skip it.
What a great recipe, and I love the fact that there are antioxidants as well as a spot of protein. Thank you for sharing your technique! PS. The bowl is gorgeous!
Heidi / Savory Tv
Heidi — Thanks! It was a Christmas present from my mother in law a few years back and has a special place in my kitchen.
I love your site and your recipes are fabulous. I’d love to be able to print some of them out – does the site have a printer-friendly facility that I’ve missed somewhere? I have looked, honest, so if there is one and I just haven’t found it, accpet my apologies!
Well, no sooner did I submit that comment than I found the “print this post” button!! I adore sweet potatoes and this recipe sounds like heaven, but printing it out is running to four pages and is very heavy on printer ink. A cut-down version for printers that consists of one picture and the recipe would be good
By the way, I loved the article on the urban farmer. What an inspiring man!
You tweeted this just in time for dinner, and they made an excellent accompaniment to our thai chicken curry. I think I’ll be making these again!
.-= Helen T
I just found this recipe and can’t wait to try it! It will just have to wait til after the Nativity fast.
I noticed your prayer rope, do you have any suggestions on how I could make this recipe lenten?
Lately I’ve been thinking about buckwheat because I haven’t had it for such a long time, and it’s great to read about a unique creation like this! Super to have a gluten AND grain free dish. I wonder if most people realise that buckwheat isn’t a true grain. I feel better on a grain free diet with the occassional use of foods like quinoa and buckwheat, but finding recipes can be tricky. Thank you!
Lillea Woodlyns´s last blog post …Gluten Free Oats?