SPICED BEAN AND CARROT PATTIES
This is a great recipe for meat-free Monday – or any other day of the week!
Harissa paste is a fiery hot blend of spices from North Africa sold near the dried herbs in most large supermarkets. If unavailable, replace with 2 tsp curry paste or sun-dried tomato puree.
Makes 15
Ready in 35 minutes, plus chilling time
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1tsp harissa paste
400g can cannellini beans, drained
400g can red kidney beans, drained
3 tbsp freshly chopped mint
100g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil for shallow frying
Salad and herb yoghurt dressing, to serve (see TIP)
1 Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and fry for 5 minutes until softened. Cool for 5 minutes then place in a food processor with the carrots, harissa paste, beans, mint and breadcrumbs.
2 Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and process for about 30 seconds until well blended. Shape the mixture into 15 small round patties. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
3 Shallow fry the patties in hot vegetable oil for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper then serve with salad and dressing.
TIP
Serve these patties with dark green salad leaves such as baby spinach and watercress with chunks of cooked beetroot. For a quick herb dressing, stir lemon juice and freshly chopped mint into natural yogurt and season to taste.