What is the first thing you think about when someone mentions sweet potatoes? If you’re like me, you probably think of that syrupy sweet concoction with finely mashed sweet potatoes that have been covered in a layer of marshmallows, then baked until they are nice and caramelized on top.

As rich and decadent as that all sounds for a vegetable, I’ve never really been a fan. Despite having an at times out of control sweet tooth it just all seemed way too sweet to me when paired with the rest of Thanksgiving dinner. Besides, I’d rather have second helping of cranberry sauce to balance out the savory.

When C.C. asked me if I had any sweet potato recipes I could write about to help support the ONE campaign to get sweet potatoes on the menu I had a few that came to mind, but I want to take a more savory slant on the venerable sweet potato. My wife loves them and they were practically all our son would eat the first few months he was on solids, so I have a little experience with working them into the meal plan.

Sweet potatoes are a great, inexpensive way to incorporate nutrition into your diet. They are loaded with vitamins and nutrients, so much so that just one cup of sweet potatoes has nearly four times the daily recommended amount of Vitamin A and 15% of your required daily fiber intake all while being low in calories. At the risk of sounding like Bubba Blue, there also are so many ways to prepare sweet potatoes like mashed, roasted, or grilled sweet potatoes, sweet potato soup, and last, but certainly not least, sweet potato pancakes.

To show Digital Dads support for the ONE campaign to help combat global child malnutrition I made my curried sweet potato pancakes that are not only very tasty, but subtle enough in flavor that they can either be paired with a protein or enjoyed all on their own. I chose to pair them with some oil poached chicken, a little creme fraiche topped with finely chopped chives, and some blistered grape tomatoes.

All in all a very easy dish to prepare and quite economical. I made six servings of this dish for right around $3.25 per serving.

As parents we are obviously very concerned about the health and well being of our children. Malnutrition, especially among children, is a huge concern in the world’s poorest countries and we need to act to help create a better future for us all. If you would like to get involved in supporting the ONE campaign to put sweet potatoes on the menu and nutrition on the global agenda there are plenty of things you can to help.

The easiest way to get involved is to sign the nutrition petition. Then you can sign up to attend a World Food Day event, “Like” ONE on Facebook to keep informed, post a photo of a sweet potato dish on Instagram with the hashtag #recipes4change, or submit a recipe to ONE’s “Recipe for Change” cookbook.

I hope you’ll consider joining us in supporting the ONE campaign to help change the tide on global child malnutrition in any way you can between now and World Food Day on October 16, 2012.

Curried Sweet Potato Pancakes

Software

• 2 sweet potatoes, coarsely grated1 leek, washed and finely shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 teaspoons ginger, finely minced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons sweet curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2-3 large eggs (add one at a time)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• creme fraiche (or sour cream)
• chives, finely diced
• canola or vegetable oil, for pan frying

Assemblage

1. Add the first seven ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine
2. Incorporate the eggs one at a time until you squeeze a ball of the mixture together with your hand and it stays together
3. Using a scoop or medium sized spoon, drop equal sized portions of the batter into a pan of hot oil
4. Cook on one side until the sweet potato pancake is brown and crispy, and has firmed up so that it won’t fall apart when flipped
5. Finish cooking on the second side, remove from oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels to wick away excess oil
6. Season finished pancakes to taste, then serve either with a dollop of creme fraiche (or sour cream) and chives, or along side the protein of your choice

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