Sweet Potato and Cottage Cheese Fritters (gluten free)

I wanted the first recipe of 2014 to be something healthy, something nourishing, something wholesome. Don’t get me wrong, I have been eating cookies and lollies like a madwoman – the evil of proximity to deliciousness, but now is the time to reign things in a little and focus on eating more of nature’s goodness and less of the buttery, sugary goodness that sometimes takes over my plate. I have been filling my lunch bowl with greens and beans until it overflows, snacking on apples while reading stretched out on my parent’s couch, eating carrots by the bag, and treating myself to sweet and plump dried apricots and prunes before bedtime. When it comes to dinner though, sometimes I need something a little more hearty than a salad.

These sweet potato and cottage cheese fritters are plump and chewy and spiced with cumin and coriander and paprika. They are high in protein (from the cottage cheese and the egg) and provide a decent amount of vitamin A and complex carbohydrates (from the sweet potato and the whole grain flours used). Most importantly they are high on flavour too. I served mine with a salad and on one night a drizzle of Japanese mayonnaise. They would also be excellent with a poached or fried egg, and if you are being a little naughty (and are not a vegetarian) a few slices of bacon are always welcome with a plate of fritters. They heat up well and make great lunch box snacks (just make them a little smaller than these ones) for back to school and back to work.

Sweet Potato and Cottage Cheese Fritters (gluten free, vegetarian)

Note: If you do not require these to be gluten free, simply replace the buckwheat and rice flours with a total of 1/2 cup of wholemeal plain flour.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup grated sweet potato (about 1 medium sweet potato)
• 1 small brown onion, grated
• 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/4 cup white rice flour
• Pinch each of salt and pepper

Method:

1. In a medium sized bowl whisk together cumin seeds, coriander seeds, paprika, baking powder, buckwheat flour, rice flour and salt and pepper.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together cottage cheese, milk and egg.
3. Add cottage cheese mixture to dry ingredients and beat together. Then add grated sweet potato and onion and stir until well combined.
4. Heat a non-stick frypan over medium heat, and grease with a little spray cooking oil.
5. Spoon about 1/3 cup of batter onto the pan for each fritter. Cook until golden brown. This will be about 2- 2.5 minutes per side. Remove from pan to a covered plate to keep warm while you cook the remaining batter.