Cheesy leek and butterbean patties with sun-dried tomatoes

Working with The University of Sheffield

Season: AutumnSpringWinter

Loving the beautiful young leeks in the veg box lately. Sometimes they’re just too nice for a classic leek and potato soup, a delicious staple though that is. These fried patties are very more-ish and go well with oven-cooked, skin-on chips or wedges made from organic spuds or sweet potatoes. And a bowl of peppery green salad leaves from Regather farm or Wortley (or our other great growers, of course!).

The quantities below are estimates – forgive this, it was a bit of an experiment at the time. Just make sure your uncooked mixture can be formed into patties reasonably easily. Add extra breadcrumbs if too wet. If you’re lucky enough to have new-season spinach leaves, you could substitute them for the rocket.

Ingredients

1 medium leek, thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tin of butter beans, drained and rinsed well

Rocket leaves, a couple of big handfuls

3 tbsp drained sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

Parsley or sage, finely chopped (optional)

60g cheddar cheese, grated

40g dried breadcrumbs

1 small/medium organic or free-range egg, beaten

Salt and pepper

Sunflower oil for frying

Method

In a frying pan, gently cook the sliced leeks in the olive oil until soft (about 5-6 mins). Set aside.

Put the rocket in a non-plastic bowl and pour over some just-boiled water so the leaves wilt. Drain, squeeze well to remove excess liquid, and chop roughly.

Mash the rinsed beans well (a fork should be good enough – it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth mash).

In a large bowl, combine the mashed beans, cooked leeks, sundried toms, rocket, herb (if using), breadcrumbs, cheese and beaten egg. Season with salt and pepper. If it looks too gooey to form patties, add more breadcrumbs.

Form about 6 patties from the mixture. Put on a plate and into the fridge for 20 minutes or so – this will help firm them up and make easier to cook.

Cook the patties: add a couple of tbsp of sunflower oil to a big frying pan and fry the patties for 3 or 4 mins on each side until golden.

Serve with homemade chips/wedges and a green salad or coleslaw.