Sweet potato and Chick Pea cakes.
I didn't quite know what to call this dish When I started thinking about it, I wanted to do a vegetarian meal based around something like a veggie burger. I hate that phrase; it sounds like it's made of some strange protein substitute, a meek imitation of a real burger, and that isn't what it is at all. This is the standalone, fight-it's-own-corner focus of a vegetarian supper. I wanted to create something that was filling, interesting, didn't require pan-frying and was, at the same time, quite light. It wanted to be strong enough to hold it's own, but not be too over-powering. I started with a vague idea of sweet potato with something - it needed a binding agent and I settled on the humble chick-pea; adding flavour and body to the cakes, this also sits happily with the rest of the flavours. I'm in an experimental mood at present, and more than a little interested in creating really satisfying vegetarian food that any carnivore would be happy to devour.
Sweet potatoes are a real odd one; a bit like Marmite, that whole love it or hate it thing. I have to say; when I first tried them I thought they were pretty horrible. My mouth didn't really get that whole sweet thing. Slowly they grew on me and I discovered how versatile they are: you can make great sweet potato chips out of them, as an alternative to regular chips or mash them as they go really well with very savoury things like stews. Recently I had them with braised beef cheeks and caramelised onions - a really striking combination in colour, taste and texture.
Serves 4, makes 8-10 cakes
- 3 sweet potatoes
- 1 carrot
- 1 tin of chickpeas
- 1 red onion
- A pinch of dried chilli flakes
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- A handful of breadcrumbs
- A handful of chopped parsley
- 1 tsp toasted coriander seeds, ground
- salt and pepper
- 1 whole egg
Preheat your oven to 180C Drain the chickpeas and in a large bowl mash them with a potato masher. Don't squish them to a puree, that's not what you want. You are looking for a textured mush, with lumps here and there. Peel and grate in the sweet potato and carrot. Finely chop the onion and add this to the bowl, along with all the other ingredients. Mix everything together - this is best done with your hands. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof, rubbing a little oil on it. (If you rub oil on the tray, then push the greaseproof down onto it, it'll stick quite happily). Take a handful of the mixture, about the size of a Clementine, and roll it in your hand until you form a ball. Squish it down to about a centimetre thick. It doesn't matter if there are little bits sticking out - these will become lovely and crispy as they cook Place the cakes on the baking sheet. When you've done all of them, you can either pop them in the fridge to firm up a bit, or stick them straight in the oven. They'll take around 25 minutes to cook. We had them with a pearl barley, cucumber and goat's cheese salad with a honey and mint vinaigrette and a freshly baked baguette. Lovely.
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