Ham & Kumara Cakes with Aioli Mustard Cream


A very popular canapé with our guests. Perfect for using up left-over ham and an easy, prepare ahead recipe. Garth cooks these on the BBQ.
GF & Diabetes Friendly
 
Cakes:
500-600 grams red kumara (NZ sweet potato) skin on
150-200gm ham off the bone, rind removed & finely chopped
1 egg, beaten                                                                                    2 spring onions (scallions) very finely sliced
1 teaspoon mustard powder                                                             2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper                                           rice flour for dredging & olive oil for frying
 
Topping:
125gm cream cheese                                                                       2 teaspoons each: aioli, Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest                                                fresh herbs to garnish, eg, parsley, thyme sprigs (optional)
 
Cook the kumara in their skins in lightly salted boiling water until they are very tender. Drain and leave the kumara to cool slightly before removing the skins while they are still warm. 

Place the kumara in a bowl and mash. Add the ham, egg, spring onions, mustard powder & parsley. Season to taste. Cover the mixture and chill it until it is firm. (Mixture is freezable at this stage.)

Divide the mixture into walnut-sized balls and flattern them slightly into cakes. Dredge the cakes in the rice flour (you can use standard flour if not GF but I find rice flour especially nice for these), shaking off any excess. Return the cakes to the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.

Heat the oil in a frypan (or BBQ hotplate) and fry the cakes in batches until they are golden brown on both sides. Drain the cakes on kitchen paper and set them aside to cool.

Beat the cream cheese, aioli, Dijon-style mustard and lemon zest together and pipe or spoon a small amount of the mixture on top of each cake. Serve the cakes at room temperature garnished with fresh herbs, if desired.

Made in 60 minutes, plus chilling time. Makes approximately 24-28 small cakes.