sweet potato cakes with cranberry relish

For a number of years, Ginger and I have had a New Year's Day open house and this has been one of the staples of that event. Now that I live in Sweet Potato Land, I thought I would post the recipe.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sift these ingredients together into a medium bowl.

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated (I use my food processor)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

Add these ingredients to the flour mixture and toss to cover the cheese and potatoes well.

1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk

In a large bowl, combine the egg and milk and then add the dry ingredients until combined.

1/2 cup oil, for frying

Heat the oil to medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Drop a few rounded teaspoons of the batter into the oil and flatten to form cakes about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Cook until bottoms are browned and tiny bubbles begin to form on top (about two minutes). Flip and cook a minute or so longer; transfer to paper towels and repeat until all batter is used.

(You can make these ahead of time, layer them between wax paper, and then reheat them in a 350 oven when you're ready to serve.) On to the relish.

1 medium orange, unpeeled, but cleaned well, halved, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 medium Granny Smith apple, unpeeled, cored, and cut into chunks
1/4 medium unpeeled lemon, treated just as you did the orange

Put the fruit in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add cranberries and pulse until they are the same consistency.

2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Transfer to a bowl, add sugar and walnuts and mix well. (This can be made up to a week ahead.) When I've served these, I also put out some sour cream.

Peace,
Milton