In our quest to become vegan super heroes vegan sidekick Charlie-May and I put on a plant-based zero waste dinner in September. One of the dishes we served up were these moreish yet simple seeded potato cakes.
The aim of the event was to raise awareness of food waste ahead of Zero Waste Week and to show how simple yet delicious plant-based meals can be.
We were really lucky to get donations from Lewisham market traders and FareShare – a charity I volunteer with that is working against food waste and poverty. The service they provide is invaluable and without volunteers more food will go to waste and even more people will continue to live below the poverty line so I really recommend volunteering with them to everyone. Plus if you’re geeky about things like warehouses like me then you’ll love it.
The night before the event we collected most of our donations and it was time to figure out what to cook. Both of us are fairly laid back cooks and usually just freestyle when in the kitchen. We love cooking together as we can go with the flow, have similar tastes and usually have tonnes of fun too – anyone that watched our live Instagram stories when we were cooking can probably attest to that. Yes, we get delirious.
The donations included potatoes so we decided to make simple potato cakes for the starter. Growing up one of my favourite dishes was aloo tikki – Indian potato cakes. My dad would sometimes shape them into butterflies, love hearts or the letter S and I would think he was some sort of chef-god. Maybe he was. They’re super easy to make and can be adapted to include any herbs, spices or flavourings that you have.
We also had these magic tubs of Tesco mixed seeds containing flax, chia, raw quinoa and pumpkin seeds so used them as a coating. Apart from that the only other ingredients were some herbs and spices from our cupboards, some spring onions that we got in Aldi for 39p and some vegan cheese that Charlie-May had in her fridge. You could add more chopped up veg to change the texture or flavour or keep them simple like this.
We served them with salad and coriander chutney. Something saucy is definitely recommended – the Indian ones I make I do with a cooling raita and sometimes a pickle (of course).
Seed-crusted potato cakes
Ingredients
- 4 medium potatoes, washed and peeled
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried herbs (parsley, basil or oregano work well or go for mixed herbs)
- 1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp dairy-free butter/margarine
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp soft dairy-free cheese (optional)
- 100g smoked vegan cheese (optional)
- 1/2 cup mixed seeds
Method
Bring a pan of water to the boil whilst you peel the potatoes. Cut them into chunks – the smaller the quicker they will cook – and boil until cooked. This will depend on the size but will be 10-15 minutes.
Mash the potatoes and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust the flavours if need be. Leave to cool until can be handled. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°c and grease a baking tray or use a non-stick tray.
Put your seeds on a plate or tray.
Wet your hands with cold water and shape the potato into balls then flatten into cakes. Gently roll them in the seeds to coat. Place on the baking tray evenly spaced out.
Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until slightly crisp, turning over halfway through.
Serve with salad, chutney/sauce and enjoy!
Sareta Puri 