It’s been a long time since I made these carrot and potato cakes, the last time I made them I fried them (eurgh!) but this time I oven baked them and they were delicious. They can go with a lot of different dishes as well, a side to some portobello mushroom steaks with a nice sauce or to accompany a bean stew etc, very versatile. You also don’t need to add the chili if you don’t want things too spicy, but we love food that has a little kick to it, so I always go a bit nutty with the chili.

This morning I went back to Spin class, it’s been a while since I’ve done that class, but I’m so glad I went, I got chatting to a couple of the ladies there and found out one is from New Zealand, but has lived in Australia for years and the other has just spent the last 13 years in New York, so I’m going to be grilling them over the next few classes as both of those locations are on our list of “to visit” and nothing can beat local knowledge. I felt very cosmopolitan chatting with them this morning (can you tell I don’t chat much???)…. do you think it’s too early to facebook them already…. (just kidding!).

I hope I can function properly in the morning after spinning today, I’ve got Bootcamp at 9am so don’t want my legs to have seized up, might do a little stretching later to keep me limber.

Carrot & Potato Chili Cakes with a Spicy Mushroom & Tomato Ragout (Vegan & Gluten Free)

MyInspiration Feel The Difference Range

Serves 2 – Ready in under an hour

For the Carrot & Potato Chili Cakes

2 medium sized carrots, peeled and grated

1 large potato, peeled and grated

1/2 onion grated

1 hot red chili finely sliced

1 tbsp red chili flakes

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp wholegrain mustard (just double check it’s GF)

2 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 4 tbsp water

1/2 cup Gram flour

For the Spicy Ragout

1/2 onion finely chopped

1 clove garlic finely chopped

1 hot chili pepper finely chopped

1 tbsp dried basil

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tbsp red chili flakes

2.5 or 3 cups passatta

1.5 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 button mushrooms chopped

1 courgette (zucchini) chopped

6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

Small handful of coriander

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper

2. Make the carrot & potato cakes by combining the grated carrot, grated potato and grated onion in a large mixing bowl, then add in the chili, chili flakes, mustard, black pepper, turmeric & cayenne pepper and stir to coat everything, now add in the flax mixture and the gram flour and again stir everything together.

3. I then used my measuring cup to form my cakes, I packed the mixture into the cup just over half full, pressed it down so everything was compacted before tipping it over quickly onto the lined baking sheet, I got 8 cakes from this mixture. Now pop in the oven for 20 minutes,remove from heat, carefully turn them over and cook for another 5 – 7 minutes.

4. In the meantime, make the ragout by adding 2 tbsp water to a medium sauce pan over a medium heat, throw in the onion, garlic and chili and cook for 4 minutes before adding all the remaining ingredients and cooking for 15 – 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You may find you want that extra half cup of passatta if the ragout is too veg dense, just to thin it out slightly.

5. Serve the potato cakes with the ragout on the side and enjoy!