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 

ASIAN BEEF PATTIES / NAKED BURGERS

These Asian beef patties are a favourite of mine to make, as they are light, filling and delicious. I call them 'naked burgers' as you can eat them (and should eat them for dinner) without any bread; instead they can be eaten 'naked' as they are or wrapped in lettuce leaves. Make sure you consume a vegetable side when eating these as they are low in veges. 

INGREDIENTS

• 500g lean minced beef
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce 
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 egg, preferably free-range 
• 2 tablespoons shallots finely chopped
• Optional - 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1/2 a small red capsicum, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 
• Optional - Lettuce leaves (to wrap the patties in)

COOKING 

1. Combine beef, chilli, fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, egg, shallots, coriander (if using), capsicum and a pinch of ground black pepper in a large bowl. Using your hands, mould the mixture into four even-sized patties. Place on a large plate, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15 minutes. 

2. When the 15 minutes is up, heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the oil, swirling to coat the pan. Place patties in the pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side, covered. Check if the patties are cooked by cutting a patty in half and seeing if any red flesh remains; if it does, continue cooking. 

3. Serve warm with a vegetable side, such as a salad, steamed corn or sweet potato fries. 

Serves / 4 accompanied by a side 

Total Preparation time / 30 minutes (including 15 minutes in the fridge)

Total Cooking time / under 10 minutes 

x Emily 

POLENTA CHICKEN PATTIES

I devised these little polenta patties after looking at an old Asian chicken patty recipe of mine. You can make this patty a little more Mexican by adding some ground or fresh chilli, if you can handle it! I love creating simple recipes like this that can be eaten as a snack or as a main meal. Make sure you let the patties rest after cooking them on the stove, as the chicken continues to cook during this time. 

Ingredients

• 500g free range chicken mince
• 1 free range egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup polenta
• 1 medium carrot, grated 
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 a medium capsicum (any colour), finely chopped 
• 3 teaspoons taco seasoning 
• pinch of ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil 
• Optional - 1 medium avocado, 2 tomatoes, sliced and a few generous handfuls of baby spinach leaves 

Cooking 

1. Combine the mince, egg, polenta, carrot, spring onion, capsicum, taco seasoning and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Mix well to combine all ingredients (using your hands works best!). 

2. Shape the mixture into 8 even sized patties. 

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the patties to the pan, making sure to flatten each one down with a spatula. Cook for one side for 3 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side for 2 minutes. Remove the patties from the stove and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

Serve warm on a bed of baby spinach, tomato and a quarter of an avocado each. 

Serves / 4 / 2 patties each + a serving of salad 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 10 minutes 

x Emily 

ASIAN CHICKEN PATTIES with VERMICELLI SALAD

If I could eat fresh Asian vermicelli salads all day every day, I would. I doubt I’d miss Western food at all. This Michelle Bridges recipe has been adapted to include red capsicum, which is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin B6 and magnesium. I removed snow peas from the ingredient list for convenience sake, as they needed to be cooked which added to the cooking time.

I have also replaced Bridge's favourite oil, olive oil, with rice bran oil. I do not like cooking with olive oil, due to its much lower smoking point than other oils. A smoking point is the temperature at which fats begin to break down and become smoke. When olive oil reaches its low smoking point its beneficial compounds are not only damaged but in addition harming compounds potentially form. Bridges loves to use olive oil in her recipes however I prefer to use several other oils for high temperature cooking, such as rice bran oil. Rice bran oil is removed from the germ and inner husk of rice. I love using this oil as it has a very high smoke point and is therefore a great choice for high-temperature cooking. It is a wealth of vitamin E and phytosterols, which are thought to lower cholesterol as well as being largely monounsaturated. But enough of the oil lesson- enjoy this fresh, crisp dish! 

Ingredients

• 75g rice vermicelli noodles
• 400g free range chicken mince
• 4 shallots (24g), finely chopped
• 1/3 cups fresh coriander leaves (13g), finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt reduced soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon rice bran oil (2.5ml/2.5g) 
• 120g red capsicum, thinly sliced
• 80g bean sprouts 
• 1 lime (50g), cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon salt reduced soy sauce 

Cooking 

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and add noodles. Cook, breaking apart the noodles with a fork for a few minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat and drain under cold water. Set aside. 

2. Meanwhile, combine the mince, shallots, half of the coriander and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a medium bowl. Shape into 6 even patties with wet hands. 

3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and add the oil. Cook the patties for 4 minutes each side or until cooked through. 

4. Toss the cooked noodles, the rest of the coriander, capsicum, bean sprouts and 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a large serving bowl and then divide into 2 smaller bowls. Place three patties on top of the each noodle dish and drizzle the lime juice from the wedges on top. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 15 minutes 

Calorie count / 495 per serve 

x Emily