Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes

So I was a little dubious of cooking with pomegranate, more so because it required a special trip to Waitrose (because apparently they are too exotic for Coop) and an obscene effort to extract the seeds. I was happy to swallow my words. The contrasting tastes of the sweet-bitter pomegranate, the salty feta and the subtly flavoured patties bounced of each other. The herby yoghurt and creamy avocado provided welcome moisture. I found this recipe attractive and tasty, a lovely vegetarian summery meal, not that I am naïve enough to hope for a summer in this country.

I found the recipe in For the Love of Food by Denis Cotter. I have been meaning to cook from this book since Marigold gave me the book at Christmas. It is overflowing with creative and unusual vegetarian recipes with ridiculously long names. It is an inspiring read even if you don’t end up following any particular recipe.

Ingredients

For the herbed yoghurt

200ml natural yoghurt

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill

For the sweet potato pancakes

100g sweet potato, peeled and grate (I used parsnip)

1 small red onion, finely diced

2 fresh green chilis, finely chopped

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp baking powder

40g semolina

75g chickpea flour

For the salad

2 avocados

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted

100g feta cheese, crumbled

100g small salad leaves

juice of half a lemon

First make the herbed yoghurt by mixing together all the ingredients.

Make the pancakes: combine all ingredients with 125ml water. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Put in four separate generous tablespoons of the mixture to make 4 cakes about 7.5cm wide. Cook for 5 minutes until crisp and browned, then flip over and cook the other side,

While the pancakes are cooking, prepare the salad: peel the avocados, remove the stones and slice the flesh thickly. Toss with other ingredients.

Drizzle some yoghurt on four plates and place a pancake or two on each. Arrange salad and squeeze the lemon on top.