Catawba Sweet Potato Cakes

The Catawba, whose ancestral homelands center along the Catawba River in the Carolinas, have a long agricultural tradition that included corn, beans, squash, and other cultivated foods. Sweet potato cakes remain among the foods associated with Catawba cooking, combining mashed sweet potatoes with a few simple ingredients before being browned on a hot griddle.

Recipe makes 10 to 12 cakes

Whatcha Need

• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground, dried spicebush berries
• 2 to 3 tablespoons bacon drippings, lard, or vegetable oil

Whatcha Do

1. In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in eggs, flour, salt, and ground spicebush berries just until combined. The batter should be slightly thicker than pancake batter but still soft enough to drop easily from a spoon. Let stand for 5 minutes before cooking.

2. bacon drippings or lard, then drop the batter onto the hot griddle one heaping tablespoon at a time.

3. Cook until golden brown on the bottom. Turn the cakes, flatten gently with a spatula, and cook until golden brown on the other side.

4. Serve hot with butter or honey.

Note

Ground allspice can be substituted for spicebush berries if unavailable.