sweet potato patties

No doubt you're looking at the title of this recipe thinking, "sweet potato patties?  That sounds like some funky hippie food.  Too weird for me."  You would be wrong.  Don't worry.  I'm not crazy.  Jeff, my mom and I all had the same first thought as you.  But we tried it anyway, and I'm so glad we did.  They are very much worth making.  These patties are sweet and savory, soft with a satisfying crunch... I could go on, but just trust me on this, make some now.

This recipe is simple and I love that the simple list of ingredients all help bring out the natural yummy flavors.  You could make this recipe all in one go, but if you pause a little between steps, you will have a much better experience.  Just read the directions and I'll explain what I mean.

Let these sit for 5-10 minutes after you take them out of the oven.  They should be cool enough to touch, but warm enough for the skins to peel off easily.

Mash the potatoes and add the remaining ingredients.

Form into patties and cover lightly in flour.  Place 3-4 patties in a bit of oil in a frying pan.

The patties should be lightly browned and have a crunchy exterior without being burned.


ingredients:
3 large sweet potatoes
1 C cooked small shape pasta
1/2 C loose bunch fresh basil (or 1 tbsp. dry basil if you're desperate)
1/4 C pine nuts
1/4 C Parmesan
1 C breadcrumbs
2 tsp garlic
flour to coat patties
oil for pan frying

directions:
1. Throw your sweet potatoes in the oven and bake st 350 degrees F for an hour.  Take the potatoes out and let them cool until they are cool enough to peel (about 30 minutes).  The peel should easily separate if you take the peel off by hand.  Place the potatoes in large bowl and leave them alone while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
2. Cook the pasta until al dente.  Drain and add in with the potatoes.  Chop the basil and stir it into the potato mixture, along with the pine nuts, parmesan, breadcrumbs, and garlic.  At this point, all that's left in the pan frying.  If you want, you can go right ahead and finish.  Or, if you want to cook these later in the day, you can stick the whole (covered) bowl in the fridge or a few hours.
3.  Form the patties one at a time and lightly coat in flour.  Pan fry them in the oil on medium heat.  You should be able to fit three or four patties in the pan.  Cook each side about 2-3 minutes, until browned but not burnt.  They should be nice and crunchy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside.

makes aprx. 16 4" patties

these make for good leftover too.  If you want the crunch when eaten as laftovers, warm them in the oven for several minutes.  If you don't particularly care about the crunch, feel free to nuke them.