Crab and Sweet Potato Patties with Chilli Salsa

These patties came together out of a simple idea: sweet potato is soft and sweet enough to hold crab without needing much else. Mashed potato is the usual binder in fishcakes, but sweet potato brings its own colour and a gentle sweetness that suits the brown crab meat, especially with a bit of lemon zest cutting through it. Once you have the mixture, the rest is quick work.

A small thing worth knowing about crab: the dark, brown meat is the richer part that comes from the body of the crab, while the white meat is the sweeter, flakier part from the claws and legs. Here the brown meat gives the patties more flavour, so they taste deeper than a plain white crab cake would. If you can only find white crab, the patties will be milder and a little lighter in colour, which is perfectly nice too.

Sweet potato is also forgiving. It holds its moisture well, which means the patties stay tender in the middle while the outside crisps. The one thing I would not skip is letting the mash cool before you add the egg. Warm mash can scramble the egg a little and make the mixture loose, and then the patties slump in the pan. A few minutes on the counter is all it takes, and it makes shaping much easier with damp hands.

For the salsa, I like it a bit rough. The tomatoes do not need to be perfectly smooth, and a little texture makes it feel fresher next to the warm patties. Taste it before you serve it, because the green chilli can be sharper than you expect, and you can always add more of the seeds if you want heat. Keep the salsa in a jar in the fridge if you make extra. It keeps well for a day and is good spooned over eggs or grilled fish the next morning.

Leftover patties are better than you might think. Cool them, keep them in a covered container in the fridge, and reheat them in a dry pan or a hot oven rather than the microwave, so the outside firms up again. They also make a fine packed lunch cut in half and tucked into a wrap with some salad leaves.

For something to round out the plate, a bowl of Spiced Mulligatawny Soup with Lentils is a warm, comforting partner, or a pile of Zesty Lemon Garlic Kidney Bean Salad works well if you want something cool and sharp alongside the patties. Either one lets the crab stay the star without making the meal feel heavy.