Basil & Pea Fritters with Hummus & Dukkah

Basil & Pea Fritters with Hummus & Dukkah

 

The inspiration for this recipe came while we were spending time with friends in Sydney, Australia at the beginning of the year. We were taken to a cool little cafe overlooking Bondi beach that was famous for its pea pancake.

The day we went also happened to be their reopening after a closure due to fire, so we were lucky to get a table as it was heaving with locals all eager to get a spot in their favourite cafe.

Ironically I didn’t actually order their famous pea pancake that day because our waiter couldn’t confirm whether they were gluten and dairy free, so instead I had their green breakfast bowl.

But when the food came I had some serious ordering envy. The green pea pancake came as one large pancake that was perfectly crisp on the outside and full of vibrant greenness on the inside, and was topped with a poached egg, avocado, courgette strips and pea sprouts. My breakfast bowl was good too, but I knew I was going to have to try and recreate their pea pancake when I got home.

 

 

For tha past week I’ve been making various versions of green pea pancakes, and we’ve been eating them mainly for dinner or leftover lunches! But I think that’s a great testament to the fact they’re perfect for any meal of the day.

When looking up the name of the Bondi cafe that inspired this post (Porch and Parlour) I also found they’d posted the exact recipe online – and would you believe it was in fact dairy and gluten free! Interestingly enough, despite not seeing the original recipe before I made my attempts, my version is very similar except it’s also grain free and a bit more herby.

I also decided to call my version fritters because it’s much easier to make several smaller ones instead of one large one. I also flavoured them with basil and spring onion, and because I thought the original probably had cheese in it I added nutritional yeast to create a slightly cheesey flavour. Needless to say, both versions are damn delicious, so you really can’t go wrong whichever one you make.

Enjoy!

 

 

BASIL & PEA FRITTERS WITH HUMMUS & DUKKAH

Makes: 6 fritters/2 generous serves
Prep time: 20 minutes  Cook time: 20 minutes

2 cups frozen peas
1 spring onion
1 handful fresh basil leaves
2 eggs
2 Tbsp ground almonds/almond meal
1 tsp nutritional yeast
pink Himalayan salt + black pepper to taste

coconut, avocado or macadamia oil for cooking

To serve:

Hummus of your choice
Dukkah (either bought or homemade)
Extra basil leaves

 

Defrost the peas by leaving to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes, or place in a small saucepan with just enough water to cover, bring to a simmer then remove from heat immediately. Drain the peas and rinse under cold water to keep their colour.

Transfer the peas to a mixing bowl and use a potato masher or the back of a fork to smash roughly half the peas. You’re aiming for a mix of whole and broken peas.

Chop the spring onion into small rounds and roughly chop the basil leaves, then add to the pea mixture.

Lightly whisk the eggs and add to the pea mixture along with the remaining ingredients. Stir well until all evenly combined.

Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a heavy based fry pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot drop spoonfuls of mixture into the pan and shape into round fritters. Depending on how big you want your fritters, you’ll likely need to add a couple of spoonfuls per fritter.

Cook the fritters for a couple of minutes until you can see the edges start to brown, then flip them over to cook the opposite side.

To serve, spread a dollop of hummus on a serving plate, lay the fritters on top and garnish with dukkah and extra basil leaves.

These fritters will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days and make a great leftover breakfast or lunch the next day.

 

 

 

Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes

Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes

Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes

 

These spiced sweet potato pancakes were inspired by the Sugar Cleanse I did last year. Going 6 weeks without any form of sugar was quite a challenge, and made me take an honest look at exactly how much sugar I was eating. Lunch and dinner weren’t too hard, but breakfast definitely required some creativity!

Before I cut the sugar, my breakfasts often consisted of gluten free cereal, fresh fruit and coconut yoghurt. I’d occasionally mix it up abd have paleo toast with avocado and almond butter, we mostly had eggs in the weekend, and of course pancakes!

If you’ve been following Swoon Food for a while you’ll know I love a good pancake. This is largely from discovering you can make a pretty decent pancake with bananas or any type of stewed fruit, eggs and ground almond or coconut. This was revolutionary for me because I hadn’t been able to eat pancakes for years while eating dairy and gluten free.

Fast forward to my 6 week sugar detox which required me to cut out all fruit (just for the 6 weeks mind), and I realised my beloved pancake recipes would need a sugar free makeover too.

The first completely sugar free pancake recipe I created were pumpkin pancakes, which have a lovely caramel quality to them. Pumpkin makes a beautiful pancake base but it’s not always in season, so the next obvious choice was sweet potato as it’s readily available and has a beautiful sweet flavour that’s perfect for pancakes.

For this spiced sweet potato pancake recipe I separated the eggs in order to achieve a lighter pancake. Often pancakes using fruit or vegetables as a base can be quite heavy, and raising agents alone can struggle to create a fluffy texture. I added spices to these pancakes too because when you’re not using any sweetener, sweet spices like cinnamon and ginger help lift the flavour.

You do need to plan ahead a little for this recipe by baking the sweet potato in the oven for 45 minutes beforehand. But this can easily be done ahead of time and stored in the fridge, or even freezer if you’re really prepared.

These pancakes are best eaten piping hot, piled high with a dollop of coconut yoghurt and fresh fruit. I used kiwi berries and blueberries for these pictures which are also great choices when watching your fructose intake, and the sprinkle of pink is beetroot powder. Enjoy!

 

Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes

 

Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes

Makes: 10 pancakes, enough for 2
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes + 50 minutes for the sweet potatoes

150g cooked orange sweet potato (1 large)
2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cardamon
pinch pink Himalayan salt

coconut oil for cooking

To cook the sweet potato, preheat the oven to 200ºC fan bake. Wash the sweet potato to remove any surface dirt, prick a few times with a fork and place on a lined oven tray in the centre of the oven. Bake for approximately 30-45 minutes depending on size. When you can easily slide a knife into the centre, it’s done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. The skin will literally steam itself loose and when cool enough to handle you should be able to easily peel it off.

Once the skin is removed, measure 150g of sweet potato into a bowl and add the yolks, almond milk, ground almonds, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cardamon and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine.

Place the egg whites in a small bowl and whisk to soft peaks with an electric mixer.

Carefully fold the egg whites into the sweet potato mixture with a flat spatula, to ensure you keep as much air in the mixture as possible.

Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a fry pan over medium heat. When hot, add spoonfuls of pancake mix, shaping into round pancakes. Cook each pancake for a couple of minutes until you can see the bottom edges starting to colour, then flip them over to cook the other side.

Serve the pancakes hot with coconut yoghurt, a sprinkle of cinnamon, fresh fruit and (if you’re not on a sugar detox) a drizzle of pure maple syrup.

 

 

 

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