Serves 4
These spicy potato cakes make a tasty summertime meal served with a simple green salad and some yoghurt or chutney.
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, coriander and fennel seeds
- 75 g spinach
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 350g potatoes, peeled and diced
- 350g shelled broad beans
- 1 mild chilli, de-seeded and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 3 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
- 40g breadcrumbs
- 1 free-range egg / or equivalent egg replacer if vegan
- 50g plain flour
Method:
To make the patties
- Roast the whole spices in a dry frying pan until they release their aromas, taking care not to burn them. Grind the spices to a powder in a pestle and mortar.
- Wash and dry the spinach then wilt it in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Chop the cooked spinach and set it aside. Boil the potatoes in salted water for five minutes, then add the beans and leave to simmer for eight minutes more. Drain, then transfer the beans and potatoes to a bowl. Add the ground spices, chilli, garlic, turmeric, two tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper, then mash roughly. Add the spinach, coriander, breadcrumbs and egg and stir to combine all the ingredients.
- Shape the mixture into patties approximately 8cm in diameter and about 1.5cm thick (wet your hands first to prevent sticking). Coat the patties in flour and chill them in the fridge for half an hour.
- Shallow-fry the patties in a little olive oil for five minutes on each side, until golden brown and crisp.
These spicy potato cakes are from Topaz Café it is an award-winning vegetarian café in Ashton-under-Lyne which has built a fantastic reputation locally and regionally. The café prides itself on great food and providing a comfortable and friendly meeting place a for the community.
Head Chef Kevin and his team love to produce seriously good and affordable food that would give any veggie restaurant a run for its money. What’s more, Topaz is run as a social enterprise. The profits are reinvested into well-being services such as counseling, creative workshops, courses and activities that are help people to build up their confidence and self-esteem.
If you live in the Manchester area you may be interested to know that the café, which is part of the charity Tameside Oldham and Glossop Mind, offers cooking courses too. Classes in cake decorating, making bonfire burritos and hoe baking are sure to inspire you get into the kitchen and cook up a veggie feast. To get you started, check out this recipe for broad bean and potato patties which is always a hit in the café.