Forget the salad... Enjoy flavoursome dishes like this Spiced Potato Cake with tomato sauce! For an added bonus, put a poached egg on top for a filling meal. 

Photo: Andrew Crowley

SERVES:

4

INGREDIENTS:

Potato Cakes:

• 2 Medium Baking Potatoes
• 2 Green Chillies 
• 3 Spring Onions
• 1/2 Lemon
• Small Bunch Coriander
• 100g Frozen Peas
• 50ml Olive Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon Masala 
• 2 tablespoon Chickpea Flour

Tomato Sauce:

• 750g Cherry Tomatoes
• 4 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
• 6 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

METHOD:

1. Peel the potatoes, cut into 3 cm chunks and put into a large saucepan of salted cold water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then lower the heat and simmer until tender; a cutlery knife inserted into the potato should pass through easily.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, halve, deseed and finely chop the chillies. Slice the spring onions on the diagonal and squeeze the juice from the ½ lemon. Coarsely chop enough coriander leaves to give you 2 tablespoons. Cook the peas in a separate pan of boiling water for 2–3 minutes until tender, then drain and set aside.
   
   
3. Drain the potatoes and return to the pan to steam-dry, then break them up coarsely with a fork and add the drained peas.
   
   
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a frying pan over a low to medium heat, add the chillies and spring onions and sauté for 1 minute. Add the dry spices, lower the heat and cook for a further 1 minute, then remove and set aside to cool.
   
   
5. Once cool, add the spice mixture to the potatoes and peas. Add the chickpea flour, lemon juice, coriander and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, then divide into 8 portions and shape each into a flat disc about 7 cm in diameter. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
   
   
6. Heat the oven to 120°C. Heat the remaining olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a low to medium heat and fry the potato cakes, in batches, for 2–3 minutes each side until hot all the way through and browned and crisp on both sides. Transfer each batch to a tray lined with kitchen paper and keep warm in the oven while you fry the remaining cakes.
   
   

7. FOR SAUCE- Chop the tomatoes into quarters and place them into a saucepan with the crushed garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Let the mix simmer for about 20 minutes, to coincide with the completion of the cakes.

8. To serve, place 2 potato cakes on each of 4 plates with one cake resting against the other. Delicious served with a spoonful of tomato sauce. For an added element to the dish, place a warm poached egg on top!
   
   
   Recipe: Leiths & Deliciously Ella
   
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