Spicy Sweet Potato Cakes with Rainbow Chard

Rainbow chard is now a daily staple in my kitchen, the chard bed in the garden is growing wild and the more I pick, the more sprouts forth. I have been throwing it into every kind of soup, stir frying it, serving the baby leaves as salad, adding handfuls to bolognese sauce and giving it away to passers-by, but it still keeps coming. 

Fast becoming my favourite vegetable, chard (swiss or rainbow) is super healthy, full of vitamins and minerals and incredibly adaptable but almost impossible to find in the shops, the only way to get some rainbow chard is to grow it yourself. 

So every day this week I have been looking for a new way to use it. Potato cakes (or tattie scones as they are called in Scotland) are a huge favourite in our house as breakfast, after school snacks and even as canape bases, this spicy sweet potato version would make a gorgeous starter or light lunch. To use as canapes, add a little more flour and aim for a firmer mixture.

Spicy Sweet Potato Cakes with Rainbow Chard
1 tbsp olive oil
3 large handfuls rainbow chard (or spinach), chopped
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 hot red chilli, finely chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped 

1kg sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
100g plain flour
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil 
Dipping sauce
2tbsp soy sauce
1 hot red chilli, sliced


Heat the olive oil gently in a frying pan or wok, then add the chard, garlic and chilli and cook for a few minutes until the spices are aromatic and the chard wilted. 
Remove from the heat and stir in the spring onions.
Boil the sweet potatoes until tender then drain and cool. 
Mash together the potatoes with the flour and salt then stir in the chard mixture.
Using wet hands, form the mixture into patties (around 5cm in diameter).
Heat olive oil in heavy based non-stick pan and fry the patties for a few minutes on each side until golden brown. 
Serve with dipping sauce made from soy sauce with a few red chillis floating through it.

Thai Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

The weather gods are on our side this week, West Linton must be in favour. The sun is out, the sky is blue and the cafe is buzzing.

We are working hard to get word out about the Green Apple Cafe, dropping flyers, setting up a facebook page, tweeting regularly, I hope it gets everyone in our local area to come by and visit, catch up with friends and try out our new menu. Every day we make fresh soups, salads, paninis and lots of yummy cakes.

At home, I am testing out new soup recipes to add some spice to the summer menu. If we have the predicted "barbecue summer" we will be needing some fresh and light flavours to entice people in so we are experimenting with flavours from hotter climes: India, Thailand and the Middle East. We've had curried butternut squash soup, chicken noodle soup with lemongrass and ginger and today, a gentle sweetly spiced Thai soup with creamy coconut milk and a little bit of a chilli kick.

Thanks to everyone who has come out to support us in our first few weeks, I hope you all come back again soon.

Thai Spiced Sweet Potato Soup
 
1tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
2 heaped tsp Thai red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 litre chicken stock
1 kilo sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
Fresh Thai basil or coriander to serve

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Saute the onions and garlic gently until soft - around 5 minutes.
Stir in the curry paste and fry gently for anonther minute or two to release the flavours from the spices.
Add the coconut milk and chicken stock, bring to a simmer and stir to blend.
Put the sweet potatoes  in the pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes until they are soft.
Blend the soup to a smooth puree then season to taste with salt and lots of black pepper.
Sprinkle with basil or coriander and serve with hot naan bread.