Potato Cakes with Peas and Leek

Christmas Christmas Christmas - never is it better than in witnessing the anticipation of little children. We have roped in all of the Father Christmas/ Santa lore around and leveraged our negotiating position with Little Boy Green. He has been reminded of the deal with Christmas: “You behave, kid, and you get the shiny green train. You misbehave, you get zilch.” (Paraphrased, and obviously a bluff but he’s too little to call it.) 

Magic. Little Boy Green is saying please and thank you (mostly) unprompted, he’s greeting people when he doesn’t want to, he’s apologising for throwing down the glass of milk at breakfast table, he’s getting dressed with minimal squirming and wriggling, he’s sweetness and light. All this because he knows Santa is omnipresent, ever spying and note-taking. We love December. We fear the arrival of January. 

Now, the menu experimentation lately has been win some, lose some. Butternut Squash Lasagne, such a hit with Mrs Green was an abysmal failure with Little Boy Green. He has now moved from merely not choosing to have butternut squash to actively disliking it. He thought the lasagne was an emetic. He loved the Cinnamon Raisin Oat Cookies (clearly). And he thought these potato cakes were awesome. He’s eaten them wrapped in chard, he’s had them topped with avocado, he’s had them served with a tabbouleh. Heated in the oven, crispy and hot and soft inside, everything about this recipe works for him. 

This is good, as we have had some spare and have resorted to these as a quick meal when our busy pre-Christmas social life has meant that there has been no meal ready at quarter to bedtime. We are having fun, all of us. Carols, lights, the endless possibilities of presenting and being presented, and good will on earth flooding every corner of these short and dark days. We are all so so good, Santa, all the way, ’til January that is…

Ingredients: (Makes 9 large cakes/patties)

• 1kg potato
• 1 X cup frozen peas
• 1 X medium leek (or onion)
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 tsp low-salt bouillon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• zest of 1 lemon (preferably unwaxed)

Method:

• Wash and chop (we did not peel) the potatoes into thumb sized pieces and steam for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely in a large mixing bowl.
• Preheat oven to 200C.
• Thinly slice the leek and place along with the frozen peas, water and bouillon into a medium sized sauce pan and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the leek and peas to the potatoes in the mixing bowl along with the lemon zest, salt and pepper. 
• Mix well and crush the mixture using a potato masher. 
• Form into cakes/patties roughly 2cm (1 1/2") thick and place on a lined baking tray.
• Bake for 40 minutes or until slightly charred on the outside, the inside will be moist and soft if eaten soon after baking but will become firm once completely cooled.

If using a food processor:

• Preheat oven to 200C.
• Once cooled, place potatoes into a food processor fitted with the S blade and blend into a coarse mash. 
• Add the leek and peas to the potatoes in the mixing bowl along with the lemon zest, salt and pepper and blend to combine well
• Form into cakes/patties roughly 2cm (1 1/2") thick and place on a lined baking tray.
• Bake for 40 minutes or until slightly charred on the outside, the inside will be moist and soft if eaten soon after baking but will become firm once completely cooled.