Being a child of the South and spending time in Mama’s (mawmaw) kitchen I grew up with the absolute understanding that hash browns were indeed one of the ten major food groups one consumes at breakfast.
No discussion. It might as well been carved into the cast iron tablets handed down from on high years ago.
The other breakfast food groups, for matter of record, are orange juice, pork in the form of either bacon or ham (patty sausage on special occasions), eggs scrambled or fried, grits, biscuits, butter, jam or honey, gravy (red eye or cream sausage gravies allowed) and coffee.
It wasn’t until on a job interview after completing the 22nd grade (I kid you not) that I tasted my first potato pancake, which opened up an entire new horizon of potato goodness.
It wasn’t until just a few years ago, after enjoying blue-collar potato pancakes for years, that I tasted these southwestern-inspired, packed-full-of-other-goodies, sweet potato pancakes which have become a staple around our camp.
They’re the perfect side dish, make for a killer breakfast or lunch when paired with a protein (or not), and are just damned good.
Just this week we whipped up a batch of these to enjoy with a grilled fresh Copper River salmon from a local fishmonger. (Wow by the way.)
MaMa would have been proud.
2 cups sweet potato, peeled, grated and drained for an hour
2 cups white potato, peeled, grated and drained for an hour
1 cup green chiles, small dice
2/3 cup green bell peppers, seeded, small dice
2/3 cup red bell peppers, seeded, small dice
1/4 cup corn
2 tbsp. fresh garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1 and 1/2 tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ancho chile powder
2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp. salt
4 whole eggs, beaten lightly
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 cup olive oil
Batter up. Combine all of the ingredients save for the olive oil in a medium bowl; mix well and let rest in the fridge for an hour or so. Drain if needed.
Make a potato pancake. Place roughly a third of the olive oil into a large skillet; heat over medium high heat until shimmering hot.
Form the mixture into 4 inch patties, squeezing out the excess liquid, then sauté for 3 minutes or so per side until golden brown and cooked through. Hold on a platter in a 200 degree oven while you finish the remainder (it usually requires three batches for us).
Serve piping hot with a great fresh salsa and cold adult beverages.
Enjoy.
