Food & Wine USA – September 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019 71

ACTIVE 55 MIN; TOTAL 1 HR 5 MIN

SERVES 4

(^3) / 4 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, finely grated
(^1) / 2 tsp. black pepper
21 / 2 tsp. kosher salt, divided, plus more
1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and
coarsely shredded on a box grater
1 lb. turnips or Yukon Gold potatoes,
peeled and coarsely shredded on a
box grater
11 / 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium leeks, thinly sliced
2 large eggs, beaten
(^1) / 4 cup all-purpose flour
(^1) / 2 tsp. ground cumin
(^1) / (^2) tsp. ground turmeric
(^1) / 2 tsp. ground ginger
Vegetable oil, for frying
Baby kale, for serving

1. Whisk together yogurt, tahini, lemon
   juice, garlic, pepper, and^1 / 2 teaspoon salt
   in a small bowl. Set aside.


2. Place a colander over a large bowl; add
   sweet potatoes, turnips, and remaining 2
   teaspoons salt; toss to combine. Let mix-
   ture stand 10 minutes. Transfer mixture
   to a clean kitchen towel; gather up edges,
   and squeeze out excess liquid. Transfer
   sweet potato mixture to a medium bowl.
   3. Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet
   over medium. Add leeks and a pinch of
   salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until
   leeks are soft and starting to brown,
   about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add
   cooked leeks, eggs, flour, cumin, tur-
   meric, and ginger to sweet potato mix-
   ture, and stir until thoroughly combined.
   4. Wipe out skillet, and add a^1 / 8 -inch layer
   of vegetable oil. Heat over medium until
   shimmering. Working in batches, spoon 2
   tablespoons of batter for each fritter into
   skillet about 2 inches apart, and flatten
   slightly with a spatula. Cook until golden
   and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Trans-
   fer fritters to paper towels to drain; sprin-
   kle with salt to taste. Add more oil to
   skillet between batches as needed. Serve
   with lemon-tahini sauce and kale.
   —KELSEY YOUNGMAN

SWEET POTATO FRITTERS

WITH LEMON-TAHINI SAUCE

The barely-there binder in the batter yields incredibly

lacy, crunchy fritters. Fry them gently over medium heat

so they cook through and crisp up without burning.