These delicious little sweet potato cakes go really well with roast lamb, pork, beef, chicken or turkey  – and reheated then next day, topped with a dollop of crème fraîche and some wood-smoked salmon, they were a huge hit at breakfast.

They’re also good enough to eat on their own.

Slightly crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, they only take a few minutes to make once you’ve baked the sweet potatoes in their skins.

Sweet Potato & Polenta Cakes with Rosemary

SWEET POTATO POLENTA CAKES with ROSEMARY

(Makes approx sixteen 2-inch cakes)

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs (680g) of sweet potatoes

1/4 cup (60ml) of very hot water

1/4 cup (60ml) of runny honey, warmed

1/2 cup (120ml) of polenta / yellow cornmeal plus extra for dredging

1 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary

Pinch of sea salt

Hi temp cooking oil such as avocado, canola or grape seed

Action:

Bake the sweet potatoes in their skins in a pre-heated 335F (170C) oven for 1 hour. Allow them to cool a bit until you can handle them.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the polenta with the hot water, warmed honey, rosemary and sea salt – mix together well then squeeze the soft baked potato flesh out of their skins and add this to the mixture – stir to combine  and discard (or eat) the skins.

The mixture will be very soft so carefully form tablespoon-sized amounts into a ball then gently press them down onto a plate of polenta to coat both sides and flatten slightly into a patty shape.

Pour about 1/2 inch (1.5cm) of oil into a heavy, deep-sided saute pan and when hot (but not smoking), transfer no more than 4 patties at a time to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes until the sides firm up, then flip them over and cook for another minute.

Transfer them to a paper-towel lined plate and continue in this way until they’re all done.

Best eaten hot or warm. You can reheat them gently in a warm oven, or on the stove-top in a dry heavy-based skillet.