Sweet potato fritters with garlicky greens, poached eggs and pesto

Two of my closest friends got married on the weekend, and held the most perfect wedding party for their friends and family. They spent weeks planning their big night, and it ended up being one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to. They decorated the venue themselves, with amazing attention to detail. From the DIY cocktail bar with pitchers filled with a mix of virgin and alcoholic cocktails with an array of add ins, to the wonderful mix of music – a string quartet, beautiful performances by family members, and the perfect playlist for dancing later on in the evening. The MC shook off initial nerves to have the whole room lapping up each and every joke, and the speeches were both funny, heartfelt and touching – the grooms speech had me in tears throughout (though as any of my friends would attest, I am a massive softie and will cry at even the most unemotional movie ever. Four times.)

The night was perfect, and though their union isn’t yet legal in the eyes of the law in our country, their marriage ceremony, and their right to be able to stand in front of their friends and family and commit their love to one another, was legal and valid in the eyes of all that were there to witness it.

This dish actually doesn’t have much to do with the wedding, other than the fact that I made it for our breakfast that morning – I was’nt required for photos until 4pm so we had the whole morning to lay about the house and cook up a heart meal to start the day right. I quickly snapped a few photos along the way, and was grateful afterwards that I did, as not only did it taste great, it also came together a lot quicker than I thought it would. We have a ritual with weekend breakfasts in our house – B is in charge of setting the table, brewing a pot of tea, and poaching the eggs (a skill Im still yet to learn), whilst I do the rest of the food prep and cooking. Oh, and B does the cleanup, which without a doubt is my least favorite part of cooking, so Im always more than happy to pass these duties over to someone else.

Sweet potato fritters with garlicky greens, poached eggs and pesto

Sweet potato fritters
400g sweet potato, peeled
2 eggs
1 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and peeper to taste
1/2 Tbsp Coconut oil

Garlicky greens
8 large silverbeet or chard leaves, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp Coconut oil

4 eggs

4 Tbsp prepared pesto

To make the fritters, shred the sweet potato using a food processor (or by hand if you’re not as lazy as I am). Combine sweet potato, eggs, paprika and salt and peeper in a bowl. Heat coconut oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Evenly distribute the sweet potato mix into 4 fritters in the pan and cook a few minutes each side until nicely browned.

Heat the coconut oil in a pan over medium heat and add the greens and garlic. Fry, stirring, for a few minutes until wilting and fragrant.

In the mean time, bring a pot of water to a light simmer over medium heat. Carefully add the eggs to the water, and cook 2 (for soft centres) to 4 (hard) minutes.

To serve, place a fritter on a plate, add a quarter of the greens mix, a poached egg and top with a tablespoon of pesto.

Serves 4