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Have you ever tried store bought veggie patties before? For me, what a disappointment. It was overly salty, mushy with no texture whatsoever. I think it’s always a good idea making a big batch of your own veggie patties and freeze them in individual bags. Because when you are in hurry, unfortunately you tend to grab a bag of processed looking-healthy-but-not-so-healthy foods.

This veggie patty is a mixture of grains, nuts and veggies. Yes, it’s a perfect wholefood full of flavour and texture. Soy sauce and mushroom for unami and earthy flavour, tahini and chickpeas for creaminess and nuttiness, herbs and spices for extra-nutritional boost. Oh, another plus side is that it’s an affordable budget meal. Yay! You can serve this as main (like what I did in the photo, served with green salad and a little dollop of Korean chili sauce called Gochugang) or in a bun or wrap.

Ingredients (makes 4 patties)

1 cup of cooked chickpeas
1 medium sized cooked potato
2 tbsp of rice flour (more if the mixture is too wet)
1/4 brown onion, finely chopped
½ carrot, grated
1 crushed garlic
Handful of chopped parsley
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of tahini
½ tsp of cumin seeds
½ tsp of smoked paprika
A pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Coconut oil for cooking

Coat a frying pan with a drizzle of coconut oil and cook chopped onion and mushroom, grated carrot and crushed garlic for 3-5 minutes until cooked. Add this mixture with the rest of ingredients into a food processor and pulse until well combined (but not overdone). Add a bit more rice flour if the mixture is too wet. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Make little patties with clean hands. You can cook in a pan for 3-5 minutes each side until golden or freeze the patties in individual sandwich bags.

We don’t have this kind of giant leeks in Korea, but only skinny spring onions. I was amazed how big the leek can be at the market. They taste like garlic, very spicy when eaten raw or undercooked because of sulfur-containing compounds called allicin. Allicin is anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. Leeks have a good source of vitamins, powerful antioxidants and anti-cancer benefits. So add more leeks into your diet! For example in your stir-fry, frittata, soup, salads, terrine, etc. It is very versatile and incredibly sweet when cooked. This salad or side dish will go really well with any kind of protein or just by itself 🙂

Ingredients

1/2 of leek
1/2 cup of cooked French lentils
1 tsp of coconut oil
1 tsp of harissa paste
5 green olives halved
1/2 onion caramelised
1 tsp olive oil
a squeeze of lemon
1 tsp of cottage cheese
salt and pepper to taste
parsley for garnish

Slice off most of the green tops. Halve the leek bottoms and run under cold water to remove any grit. Steam the leeks until just soft and then set aside. Brush with coconut oil and grill them over medium heat until you get nice grill marks on each side. Meanwhile, cook the French lentils until soft. For harissa dressing, mix harissa, olives, caramelised onion, olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Arrange grilled leeks on a serving plate. Spoon cooked lentils and harissa dressing over the leeks. Garnish wish cottage cheese and parsley on top.

I bought a bottle of basil infused oil a while ago from the shop. A scent from using the oil when cooking is just amazing! Store-bought infused oils can cost you fortune. So I decided to make my own using dried chillies and cloves of pickled garlic. You can make infused vinegar, honey, oils with dried or fresh herbs. As a chilli and garlic lover, I’m going for this chilli and garlic infused oil, but feel free to try with rosemary, pepper, lemon, thyme, basil, etc.

I used a handful of whole birds-eye chillies (very hot!) and a few pickled garlic cloves that I made before. Warm the light olive oil and ingredients in a sauté pan and warm over medium heat for a couple of minutes (not boiling!). Let the oil cool completely and transfer to a sterilised jar. You can leave the ingredients in the bottle or strain before using. Allow to infuse for a week in the fridge.

Please note that fresh garlic and herbs that contain any trace of water or moisture might cause a bacterial growth. So if you do use fresh ingredients, keep it refrigerated and use within a week. Or another option is using dried ingredients or preserved ingredients in a brine or vinegar solution just like what I did with dried chillies and pickled garlic. I made this for my mother-in-law 🙂 Hope she likes it x