Sweet Potato Pancakes with Guacamole

I have to be honest, these were just alright. Alright by themselves, and decently good topped with guacamole. The combination is odd in a good way. They would probably be better as a side dish or appetizer instead on making them your entire meal like I did. I first saw this recipe while flipping through the channels sometime in December and stopped, of course, on the Food Network and 30 Minute Meals. I thought to myself  "I love sweet potatoes! What a great/different/not too sweet way to make 'em. I'm gonna make those over my break." So I got all of the ingredients and proceeded to prepared the semi-time consuming recipes. Having never made potato pancakes of any kind, or homade hashbrowns for that matter, I was surprised at how hard it is to shred potatoes, especially sweet potatoes, which have very low moisture content. Upon the initial tasting I was thinking that I would never make them again, but now I feel diferently. I think that they would be better with a better sweet potato. Mine was not very dark in color so it probably wasn't as sweet as it could have been. I did cut back on the spices compared to the original recipes only because I thought it seemed like a lot. Also, I just made my own guac rather than following Rachel's recipe. I was not feeling the pomegranate syrup.

Sweet Potato Pancakes
adapted from Rachel Ray
Many reviewers of this recipe complain that their pancakes fell apart. I formed the pancakes in my hand pressing them tightly together and squeezing out any extra liquid before putting them into the oil, and used a small flexible turner to flip them. They are pretty fragile when cooking, but if you are careful you shouldn't have any problems.

about 2/3 cup canola oil, for frying
1 medium Idaho potato, peeled and shredded
1 large sweet potato, peeled and shredded
1 small onion, peeled
1 egg, beaten
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. coriander
salt and pepper

1. Heat enough oil to just cover the bottom of the pan over medium to medium-high heat.
2. Drain the shredded potatoes, pressing them down in a colander to get their moisture out. Place the potatoes in a bowl; using a box grater, grate the onion directly into the potatoes so that the onion juices fall into bowl as well. Add the egg and flour to the potatoes and onion then season with spices and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
3. Drop enough batter into hot oil to make 2 1/2-inch pancakes. Add more oil, as needed, and fry cakes in batches until deeply golden on each side.
You will get about 16 pancakes. Drain cooked cakes on paper towels.

Guacamole
I never go by a recipe when I make guac. It's one of those things that I just eyeball and taste, so it ends up a bit different every time. This is what went in this time a round...sadly without onion (the husband's request).

2 ripe Hass avocados
1 roma tomato, finely chopped
1/2 a jalepeno, finely diced - use membranes and seeds to achieve desired heat
the juice of 1/2 a lemon - I prefer a lime, but we were out
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper

1. Cut the avocados in half, all the way around the pit. Remove the pit with a spoon or sharp knife, then scoop the flesh into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients.
2. Mash until smooth. Taste and reseason, if necessary.

I like to make my guacamole in a bowl with a flat bottom and use a potato masher to mash all of the ingrediants together. It's much easier than using a fork and yields a more uniform consistency.