This dish is an ideal light lunch or dinner, or even a starter if you make the potato cakes smaller/served less. They don’t actually use potatoes but instead are made with a mash of cauliflower and white beans to give you a satisfying protein punch. The rest of the veg and the basil cream provide great sources of dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals as well as being damn tasty! They’re really easy to make (even if you do have to get your hands messy!) and you can also make them ahead of time and store in the fridge for baking the next day.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
‘Potato’ Cakes
- ½ cauliflower head, broken into florets
- 1 tin/400g (240g drained weight) cannellini beans (or other white beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ cup/80g artichoke antipasti, drained and chopped
- ½ cup/90g cooked sweetcorn kernels
- 1 cup/250ml of breadcrumbs (gluten-free if necessary)
Basil Cream
- ½ cup/75g cashews, soaked overnight and then drained
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1 small packet/30g fresh basil, roughly chopped
METHOD
- Steam the cauliflower and beans for 15-20 minutes, until tender and falling apart.
- Drain, and set aside to cool down.
- Preheat the oven to 180C and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Meanwhile, gently sauté the onion and garlic until translucent and fragrant, 5-10 minutes.
- When the cauliflower and beans are cool enough to handle, place in a clean tea towel and squeeze out most of the excess liquid from them (don’t go overboard or they’ll be too dry). Place in a large bowl and mix with all the other ingredients except the breadcrumbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Put the breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Use your hands to shape the mixture into patties and coat each side in breadcrumbs before placing on the baking tray.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- While the cakes are cooking, make the basil cream. Place the cashews, salt and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the basil and blend again to the desired texture.
- Serve the potato cakes on a bed of salad leaves with the cream spooned on top. I also like to add a couple of poached or fried eggs.