Visually very inviting, make your way from the crispy top, the buttery, creamy, pale yellow, gently spiced yam and soft middle layer. Then when you get to the centre, there's the little surprise that you have been waiting for which is a thickened pulled beef sauce with bell peppers and onions. If you find yourself mmm-ing, then you did it right. Keep eating.
Yam is a versatile staple in Ghana and many parts of Africa. It can be fried, pounded, made into mportomportor or even yam mash. One of the well known and favourite varieties of yam here in Ghana is called Pona. It holds up very well when cooked and has a recognisable, delicious taste. It also the best tasting in my opinion. There are other varieties of yam and for this recipe, I would urge you to go with Pona if it is in season and readily available. The worst type of yam is one which disintegrates into the water as it is cooking.
Back when I was in primary school my mum would fry yam for my siblings and me to have for lunch. Of course, by the time it was lunch, they'd be cold and hard and I would wonder if I would make it through the year (Dramatic, I know).
Developing this recipe, a number of things came to mind. A couple of weeks ago, I made an oven pulled beef and thought about what else I could do with it apart from stuffing it in a flatbread. Seeing recipes that show filled buns made with potatoes or rice or flour as the choice for the bun. With this in mind, a yam pattie filled with a pulled beef sauce with bell peppers sounded like a good idea. And it is in reality.
In getting the yam into a mash you can either do that with a fork, which I did because I don’t own a ricer. Do not overwork the yam because it will turn gummy and into fufu. Yam fufu happens to be great with groundnut soup, but that's not what is on the menu today. The toasting of the coriander and mustard seeds gets their beautiful flavour out because we can’t have the yam tasting bland. We don't do bland anything over here at Ginger & Sea Salt.
We make the yams into balls, fill them with the awesome sauce. And then flatten them somewhat to get a pattie like a shape. Before doing anything, wash your hands properly. Like a potter on a potter's wheel, you will be getting your hands in there, poking holes and moulding, so make sure your hands are clean. If you prefer to use gloves then that’s ok too. The only part of making this recipe that may be a bit finicky is getting the sauce into the yam balls and forming them but a little fumble here, a tad of smoothing over, squeeze gently together and soon you will be patting yourself on the back for a job well done.
A filling, buttery and velvety delight with a perfect touch of crunch on the top and bottom. After you try this go and brag to your friends about how good it is. The great thing about this recipe is that essentially all the ingredients are already cooked so when you eventually go to fry the yam patties, all you're doing giving their characteristic golden brown colour and some additional texture.
This recipe has quickly become one of my favourites. It is heavy on the butter and milk and therefore quite rich in flavour and therefore not an everyday meal. Eat this with a simple crisp salad with a zesty vinaigrette to cut through all the richness.
Yam Patties with Pulled Beef
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp beef pulled or shredded
- 1 medium onion chopped
- ½ medium yellow bell peppers chopped
- ½ medium green bell pepper chopped
- 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with water
- 600 grams Yam cut into thick slices
- 150 grams butter
- 100 ml milk
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- For the filling, heat a pan with vegetable oil over medium heat and fry chopped onions until soft.
- Add beef, and bell peppers and stir.
- Mix cornstarch with water and add to the pan to get a thickened sauce, cook for about 2 minutes and set aside to cool.
- For yam patties, add yam to a pot and add water to just cover the yams bring to boil and add a teaspoon of salt.
- While the yams are cooking, toast the coriander and mustard seeds in a pan for 2 minutes and then transfer into a mortar.
- Add black pepper to mortar, crush until fine and set aside.
- Drain water and transfer yam into a large bowl and mash yams with a fork or a potato ricer.
- Add all the butter and keep mashing but add milk in bits until mixture is soft and light but not overly mushy.
- Add crushed spices and also salt to taste if necessary.
- Form 4 yam balls from the mixture. Take one ball and with your thumb, make a hole in the middle while widening out the walls of the ball.
- Fill the centre with about a tablespoon of the filling and carefully close up the ball. Gently press together, ensuring that there are no cracks and once a smooth ball as been reformed, carefully flatten the ball into a pattie and repeat for others.
- Over medium heat, add oil to cover the bottom of the pan and fry each of the patties until golden brown, making sure to be gentle when turning them.
- Serve with a fresh, zesty salad.
Leave a Reply