Sweet Potato & Avocado Fritters
What are Fritters?
Our recipe here at Cooking & Cats is a spin off the more traditional pumpkin fritters that seem to be more common. The truth of it is, pumpkin aren’t always in season and this ended up being the a great way to bring some creativity to the things in our pantry, namely our endless stockpile of sweet potatoes!
A fritter is loosely defined as a portion of some ingredient that’s been turned into a batter and deep-fried. Yes, this is a very broad definition. There are many types of fritters, both sweet and savory, and the ones most commonly known are apple, corn, pumpkin, and crab. All very different from each other, but all incredibly delicious.
Because of it’s broad definition, it’s difficult to say the exact origin of the term because it’s so all-encompassing of things that have existed for thousands of years. So instead of dwelling on the etymology, let’s talk about where the most commonly consumed fritters are found.
Many West African countries, the most prominent seeming to be Nigeria, have fritter called an akara consisting of peeled black-eyed peas and a variety of spices. South Africa have the pumpkin fritters that lean closer to the sweet side of things, served with cinnamon sugar at all times of day.
Other areas of prominent fritters are Brunei, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Canada, the US, the UK, the Philippines, Iran, Iraq, and Korea. Although this type of dish has many different names and varieties, it seems humans will always find a way to fry off delicious leftovers to the point of making a whole new dish.
Price Breakdown!
Not only is this dish incredibly easy to make, it utilizes ingredients a lot of us have just sitting around in our pantries and fridges. This recipe was based on the lack of ingredients for a larger meal in my own kitchen, using just the random bits and bobs that were leftover and needed to be used before spoiling. If you have a different cheese sitting around your fridge rather than feta, there’s no shame in using that up instead!
Keep in mind that all of the prices given are based on my local grocery store, and it can differ depending on where you live.
1 Sweet Potato: $0.99
1 Avocado: $1.49
1 Yellow Onion: ~$1.05
5oz Feta: $3.75
1/3 Cup Parm: $2.99
All Spices: ~$1.00
1.5 Cups Yogurt: $1.50
2 Eggs: $0.50
1 Lemon: $0.69
Total Cost: $12.91
Cost per Serving(4): $3.22
Sweet Potato & Avocado Fritters
Simone Peironnet | 6/15/2022
- prep time: 10 minutes
- cook time: 20 minutes
- total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients - Dipping Sauce:
1/2 Cup Sour Cream / Yogurt
Zest of 1 Lemon
A pinch Salt & Pepper
Cilantro, for garnish
Ingredients - Fritters:
- 1 Sweet Potato, peeled and grated
- 1 Avocado, cubed
- 1 Yellow Onion, finely diced
- 5 oz Feta, crumbled
- ⅓ Cup Parmesan
- ¾ Cup All Purpose Flour OR Rice Flour for a gluten free option
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Dried Sage / Dried Rosemary
- 1 tsp Paprika / Aleppo Pepper
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Cup Plain Yogurt
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil OR Canola Oil
Serve With:
- Summer salad
- A light soup
Instructions: Dipping Sauce
- Combine all dipping sauce ingredients, and set aside until fritters are ready.
Instructions: Fritters
- Peel your sweet potatoes, then shred them using a grater. Add your grated sweet potato into a small bowl along with your crumbled feta, finely diced onion, grated parmesan, cubed avocado, flour, salt, pepper, paprika, sage, and baking powder. Gently stir until combined, careful not to crush your avocado. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together your eggs and yogurt until well combined. These two elements are helping to create structure that will bind your fritters together because of the specific protein found in your eggs called “lecithin,” which is an emulsifier. Once your eggs and yogurt are combined, gently stir in your sweet potato & flour mixture until well coated.
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add your oil. Once up to temperature, scoop around 1/4 cup of your fritter batter into your pan. With a spatula, press your scooped batter flat until about a 1/2 inch thickness. Cook for 4 minutes on each side, until nicely crisped/browned and cooked all the way through. Once cooked, set aside on a lined oven-safe plate and let warm in the oven until all your fritters are cooked.
- Repeat until you run out of batter. Serve hot with a generous dollop of your dipping sauce. It goes well topping a salad or alongside a soup. Enjoy!
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