VEGETARIAN POTATO PATTIES TWO WAYS

There is something so fun and enjoyable in making patties. I've made these vegetarian patties a few times and after careful experimenting I have split them into two different, yet quite similar, recipes; Potato & Lentil Patties and Sweet Potato & Chickpea Patties. I like to make both recipes so that I have a large batch of 16 patties to serve for lunch and dinner for several days. Whilst this recipe does take over one hour to prepare and cook, if you've got the time it is a great way to use up old potatoes and is a very hearty vegetarian meal that can be frozen for later use. As for the tinned chickpeas and lentils, this is all I'll say; whilst it would be wonderful if we could all take an extra 45 minutes to one hour out of our days to cook legumes from scratch, this is first and foremost an easily accessible blog, hence the recipes should reflect that and therefore I have gone with the shortcut option out of a tin. 

INGREDIENTS for Potato & Lentil Patties 

• 800 sebago potatoes, roughly chopped into small pieces
• 1 x 400g tin of brown lentils, rinsed & drained 
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1/2 brown onion (60g), chopped finely
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 egg, preferably free range
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

INGREDIENTS for Sweet Potato & Chickpea Patties 

• 800 sweet potato, roughly chopped into small pieces
• 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, rinsed & drained  
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1/2 brown onion (60g), chopped finely
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 egg, preferably free range
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

COOKING

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius fan-force. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

2. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with the type of potato you chose, covered. Once boiled, cook for around 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain well in a colander with cold water. Mash in a large bowl until smooth. 

3. Add the chickpeas OR lentils, carrot, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, tahini and a pinch of sea salt & ground black pepper. Mash well to combine, then add the egg and mash again. 

4. Taking around a heaped 1/3 of a cup of the combined mixture, shape into 8 individual patties. 

5. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil at a time. Cook patties in two batches, 4 at a time (replenishing the oil each time), for around 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Make sure to press the patties down with a spatula when you first place them in the pan. NB: Take extreme care when flipping the patties, as they are fragile and can break easily. 

6. When all patties have been browned, place on the prepared baking tray and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until they are heated through. Serve with a side salad. 

Makes / 8 large patties 
Serves / 4 = 2 large patties each alongside a side salad 

x Emily