When it comes to cookbooks, I have this routine habit of going back to my favourites and not venturing to pick up one of the many other ones living on my bookcase; slowly collecting more dust than I would like to admit. The likes of short-cut queen Donna Hay and Mr 15-minute meals Jamie Oliver are my usual go-to's with a love of their simplistic and modern recipes.
So when I do get the time to sit down and read some of the more untouched titles; I like to go and explore new styles of cooking, cuisines and techniques. One of my latest discoveries ( thank you to my dear aunt purchasing one of her books) is the stunning Erin Gleeson and The Forest Feast cookbook, everything about this book is just beautifully styled, such an inspiration. Not only are the recipes vegetarian, but her books really do take you on a journey through Gleeson's life at her Californian forest lodge.
Not only does this book make me want to pack up and move to the forest, but it really got me thinking about the seasons and getting more creative with cooking vegetable based dishes. I am already trying to cut back on my meat intake so it seemed like the perfect time to start cooking some new and exciting things.
The first recipe I decided to try was the Sweet Potato Latkes. I wasn't overly familiar with the term latkes, and admittedly had to look it up only to discover that this was a traditional Eastern European dish which only added to my embarrassment (being half Hungarian myself).
I found this dish very easy to make and I made it one Saturday morning as an alternative to the usual egg-based breakfast and brunch dishes that I usually create.
Ingredients
2 Coarsely grated sweet potatoes
Four beaten eggs
One clove of garlic minced
1 Tbs of breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
To Serve
Natural Greek style yoghurt
Fresh Herbs
Crumbled goats cheese
Directions
I put the sweet potatoes straight into my food processor, and they were grated in a manner of seconds. If you don't own a food processor, a box grater will do the job fine.
Mix the sweet potato mixture with the eggs, garlic and breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper. Once it is well combined, put the frying pan on with the olive oil. About three heaped tablespoons of the mixture equates to one pattie.
Put the portioned pattie mixture into the hot oil and cook until golden and crunchy.
Top with the yoghurt crumbled goats cheese and sprinkled with the fresh herbs.
You can find more vegetable cooking inspiration and stunning photography in Erin's book The Forest Feast which can be purchased from The Forest Feast website here
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