About sweet potato patties, Paul Gauguin, teleportation and happiness

„What is going on in this world?!” — she asked, ending the phrase with an exceptionally bent from all the burdens of the world question mark. It was Friday. I avoid news, I don’t read newspapers, and I adopt the tactic of looking for nice things, beautiful ones, those which bring me happiness. This time it turned out that I did not miss anything. Nothing new, nothing shocking had happened. Fortunately, I was able to safely return to the topic that currently is my 100% concern — sweet potatoes.

I don’t remember when I tried them for the first time. I’ve managed to eat them many times, in savory and sweet dishes. Baked. Stewed. Fried. With skin. Without. In soups. Cakes. Creams. In a cheesecake. And as chips. All these methods were good, but none of them ever deprived me of this deeply rooted “but”. They were definitely too sweet in savory dishes and too savory in sweet ones.

A sweet potato baked the day before tempted much. I cut it in half, showing this extraordinary warm colour. I smiled (Yes! It occurs that a sweet potato can make someone smile!). In a flash I relocated to Tahiti. Teleportation turned out to be possible. I mashed the potato with a fork, not removing the skin (ZW!), which gives texture and plenty of goodness. Then I mixed the dark pulp, the colour of the setting sun, with an egg scrupulously kept in a white cup. A pinch of salt and a little flour, a hot frying pan with a splash of olive oil, nothing more. The natural sugar of the sweet potato was starting to caramelize. I sprinkled cinnamon on my potato patty, wondering if Paul (Gauguin) would like it. I added some sour cream to break the sweetness.

Sweet potato patties inspired by Paul Gauguin

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 egg
• 1 heaped tbsp flour
• pinch of salt

To serve: cinnamon, sour cream (or sweet cream with a little lemon juice).

Vegan version: use 2 tbsp potato or corn starch (maizena) instead of an egg.

Bake a whole sweet potato (with skin) in aluminium foil at 180°C until soft. Let it cool. Mash it (you can chop the skin), mix with an egg, flour and salt. Heat the frying pan, add some olive oil. Form patties with a spoon and fry until golden on each side. Serve with cinnamon and sour cream.

Originally published on Cuisine And Art, 3 December 2020.