Black-eyed Pea and Sweet Potato Cakes With Greens

I bought a can of black-eyed peas a while ago and every time I would open the kitchen's cupboard I could feel them staring at me; with their judgemental look, as if they were saying “You haven’t got the slightest idea of what to do with us, that’s why we’re still here, covered with a layer of dust.”
I knew that I had to take action asap. No way a bunch of canned peas was going to get at me.



So I came up with these little vegan cakes. Of course I couldn’t leave sweet potatoes behind, as well as spinach (what my life would be without those foods? Sometimes I wonder...). Black-eyed peas proved to be the perfect binding agent, no need for egg or cheese.
Three superfoods in one dish, things are getting serious over here. A touch of paprika to enhance flavor and that’s about it.
I really hope you’ll give these little cakes a go, because they certainly deserve it!

Black-eyed Pea and Sweet Potato Cakes with Greens                                        Print this recipe!
Adapted from Nourished Kitchen

Ingredients
Makes 16 bite size cakes

1 can 15 oz / 425 gr black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed well
1 medium sweet potato
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 small onion, chopped
2 large handfuls spinach, roughly chopped (you can use any other greens)
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ cup corn flour (or brown rice flour)


Directions

Boil the sweet potato in a large pot of salted water until tender, about 40 minutes. Transfer to bowl, peel and mash using the tines of a fork.
In the meantime heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Stir in onions and saute’ until translucent and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until tender, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Transfer spinach mixture in the bowl of a food processor, add peas, sweet potato, corn flour, cayenne pepper and salt. Pulse until pureed. If the mixture looks to wet add more corn flour, one tablespoon at a time.
Scoop two heaping tablespoons of mixture and using your hands form bite size patties.
Deglaze the pan you used for the spinach with ¼ cup of water, scraping any brown bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add cakes leaving some room between each. Cover and cook for around 5 minutes or until the cakes are browned.
With the help of a spatula, flip the cakes and cook on the other side for 5 minutes. If there’s no browning, turn the heat up and cook until golden.
Remove from the skillet, cool on a wire while you cook the other patties.
Serve hot with a good sauce such as tomato or, if you’re not vegan, tzatziki.

Nutrition facts

One cake scores 49 calories, 1.8 grams of fat, 6.5 grams of carbs and 2 grams of protein.