Sweet Potato Fritters with Cucumber Salad & Vegan Curd with Herbs
One of my favorite dishes is a German one called "Kartoffeln und Quark" – potatoes with curd. I'm happy whenever I eat it, so I also really like this version with a sweet potato fritter. But this recipe did drive me a wee bit crazy – there were several reasons why.
Problem number 1: grating (sweet) potatoes. I'm kind of shocked that you can buy so many pre-cut veggies such as diced onions, but I would definitely grab a package of grated potatoes. I'm not sure why it bugs me so much, but while test cooking this recipe, I realized it is my absolute least favorite thing to do in the kitchen. It always takes longer than you think, and my arm strength seems to be not up to it. It's basically a workout I didn't want to do in the first place. So no one will hear it from me if you take a little shortcut and use a ready-made fritter dough for the recipe.
Problem number 2: The idea of a pan-sized potato fritter. This recipe is a bit older, and those who know it "from the old days" know that our sweet potato pancakes used to be much smaller, to begin with. Of course, you can still do that with the recipe, but I wanted to try something new this time. So when I test cooked them, I added the entire potato fritter mixture into the pan. The result: when I flipped it, everything stuck to the bottom of the pan. How marvelous! I added soy flour as a binder in the second test and switched to the best non-stick pan I own. The result: when I flipped it, the fritter still stuck to the bottom of the pan. Delightful! I wasn't satisfied until I first salted the potato mixture and let it sit briefly. The salt extracts moisture from the potato, which you can then drain and squeeze out. Only afterward do I add flour and the soy flour mixture. The dough becomes a bit drier this way and thus holds better in the frying pan.
Still, you'll have to be a little more patient with the large fritter version than with the small ones to make sure that it doesn't fall apart when you flip it. And even IF it happens: don't give up! Just put everything back in the pan, press it together with a spatula, continue frying and try again flipping. Eventually, it will work! And if not, then there are still small sweet potato fritters to go for.
Sweet Potato Fritters with Cucumber Salad & Vegan Curd with Herbs
Ingredients
For the fritter:
- 600 g (1.33 lbs) sweet potatoes
- 200 g (7 oz) potatoes
- 50 g (0.5 cup) flour
- 2 tbsp soy flour
- 4 tbsp water
- salt
- pepper
For the vegan lemony herb dip:
- 400 g (14 oz) plant-based curd
- 1 small red onion
- 15 g (0.5 oz) herbs of choice (e.g. dill, chives, parsley)
- 0.5 lemon (zest and juice)
- salt
- pepper
For the cucumber salad:
- 1 cucumber
- 1 red onion
- 1 tbsp herb vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp plant-based heavy cream
- 5 g (0.25 oz) dill
- salt
- pepper
- sugar
Instructions
For the fritter, peel and grate sweet potatoes and potatoes. Add both to a large bowl, season with salt, and let sit for approx. 10 minutes until some liquid comes out of the potatoes. Drain the liquid and squeeze the potato mixture extra, losing even more liquid.
Add flour to the grated potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and mix well. In a second small bowl, combine soy flour and water, then add it to the potato mixture and mix in.
Heat vegetable oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Add either half of the potato mixture or the entire amount to the pan and press down lightly. Now it's time to be patient. Fry the fritter over medium heat for approx. 15-20 minutes until it's browned on the bottom and the potatoes are already cooked through. You should be able to move it around if you toss the pan a bit.
Place a large, lightly greased plate on top of the pan. Now flip the pan, so the fritter falls down to the plate. Carefully remove the pan, place it back on the stove, and add more vegetable oil. Next, carefully transfer the fritter from the large plate back to the pan and fry until it's browned on the second side as well.
While the fritter is frying, prepare the lemony herb curd and cucumber salad. For the herb dip, add plant-based curd to a bowl. Peel and finely dice the red onion. Finely chop the fresh herbs. Add both to the vegan curd and mix. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and zest to taste. Refrigerate the dip until serving.
For the cucumber salad, chop the cucumber, thinly slice the onion thinly, and chop the dill. Add everything to a bowl along with herb vinegar, olive oil, and plant-based heavy cream. Mix well and season with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Refrigerate until the fritter is ready.
For serving, place the fritter on a large plate and top it with your dip and cucumber salad.
