This recipe appeared as a result of me staring into my fridge, wondering what I could do with the 50 carrots I had accidentally ordered on my online shop. And although I'm not vegan, I wanted to start creating some naturally vegan recipes that were easy and tasty, to help steer my nutrition clients away from "vegan products" which can often be so processed, they don't really offer many health benefits. In fact, sometimes they are quite the opposite of healthy, even though they are marketed as if they are. (I would always check out the ingredients list on ready made foods. If you don't recognise any of them, or the list is really long - avoid, avoid, avoid).
Anyway, back to my fridge full of carrots...
These tasty little beauties are one of my favourite recipes . It's definitely worth making a big batch of them. They are delicious, healthy and a lovely accompaniement to all sorts of meals. They can be reheated in the oven or they make a great grab and go snack from the fridge if you're in a hurry. They go beautifully with hummus, natural yoghurt and as one of the side dishes in a lovely big veggie or vegan feast.
I made some for my last Women's Wellness afternoon at The Yoga & Wellness Rooms in Shoreham and they went down a storm.
There are lots of recipes out there that are similar (I am often inspired by ingredients I have and a picture I see, and then spend time making it work for my tastes, so you could do the same). but this one worked really well for me.
RECIPE - makes approx 20 patties
2 x large carrots washed, peeled and grated
1 x large courgette washed, peeled and grated
1 x large spring onion, washed and chopped finely
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas in water
3 x tbsp chick pea flour (any flour would be fine, but I am catering for my daughter who is coeliac)
Oil for frying -I probably used about 2 tbsp in total
Spices of your choice
I used 2 x heaped tsp of the following: Ground cumin, coriander and turmeric
1 x thumb size of ginger root, grated
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
METHOD
Mix the spices, chick pea flour, salt and pepper and set aside.
Drain the chick peas, keeping a small amount of the water. Add into a large bowl
Mash the chick peas until they are mostly mashed, some left a bit more chunky
Throw in the grated carrot, courgette and ginger root and mix together well (get your hands in to massage all the ingredients into an evenly mixed mush)
Mix in the spices and chick pea flour so it's evenly mixed (again, get your hands in there)
Add more chick pea flour if there is a lot of liquid
Heat some oil in a non stick fryng pan on a medium heat
Spoon out heaped teaspoons of the mixture, drop into the oil and squash quite flat and encourage a nice round shape (this cooks the veg quicker and allows you to serve them lovely and fresh and tender rather than a bit frazzled)
Turn over after about 3 minutes, cooking each side to a lovely golden colour and so that the vegetables are tender, but still really fresh tasting
Repeat until all the patties are cooked and serve immeditately or cool and store in the fridge for later!
Serve with hummus, yoghurt, finely sliced cucumber salad and pickles
Yummy!
Let me know if you make them, Lynne x
HEALTH BENEFITS
Fibre rich (veg and chick peas)
Protein rich (chick peas)
Blood sugar regulation (particularly chick peas)
Anti-inflammatory (everything, especially spices)
Gut bacteria (everything - all plant based which encourages good and varied gut bacteria)
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