Sweet Potato Haystacks

Whenever I am presented with the option of paper or plastic, I choose paper. Whenever I am presented with the option of White or sweet potato...I choose sweet. Two of my favorite indulgences are Trader Joe's Sweet Potato chips, or sweet potato fries. This is of course what I eat when I am trying to not eat cookies. I have convinced myself that because it is orange like a carrot it is healthy...no matter how it is cooked. So please, don't spoil my non nonsensical logic.: )

Usually I slice up a sweet potato into strips, toss it with some olive oil, and sea salt and bake until done. Or, I cube it toss it with olive oil, sea salt, and rosemary and bake until done. I really need to work on some new ways to cook sweet potatoes. Oh look at that...a new way to cook sweet potatoes...perfect timing! So these babies are rufus. Yeah, they are that good. You can make these without a food processor, they will just take a heck of a lot more time to make...but still totally worth it. These are cooked in an oiled frying pan, but after looking around online I saw that they can also be made in the oven on an oiled sheet pan. So, I will try that method as well and report back on how it worked.

Now, some brief random facts on the Sweet Potato:
You may also know Sweet potatoes under their alias names of yam, patata, patae, susse kartoffel, patata dulce, patate douce, patata dolce, batata doce, batatas...say what...oh, and sweet potatoes are technically not yams...yams are softer are more orange then sweet potatoes, but to avoid confusion the USDA mandated that all yams/sweet potatoes be labeled as "sweet potatoes." What, did they think we are all too dumb to handle the truth? I can handle the truth.
October-January is the prime season for Sweet potatoes, but now and days they are readily available year round. Most of the world's sweet potatoes come from China...go figure.

Sweet Potato Haystacks

2 pounds peeled and grated sweet potatoes
1 small onion grated
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
olive oil

Grate sweet potato and onion in food processor fitted with grater attachment. Mix in large bowl with remaining ingredients until well combined. Heat oil in large frying pan over medium/high heat. Form small patties in hand and place in hot oiled pan. (please note, they are fragile so don't move them around in the pan until you flip them) Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until nice brown color is formed. remove from pan and eat. These would be great with brunch instead of hash browns!!! Or they make a perfect accompaniment to any dinner!