In our quest to get through our pumpkin harvest my husband suggested that we mash the pumpkin with kidney beans and make a chilli flavoured veggie burger and out of that suggestion these pumpkin patties came into being. They can be made ahead and kept in the fridge until you are ready to cook them so whilst it takes a while to get everything prepared you could do the preparation earlier when you have a bit of time, or even the day before.
The picture above shows them coated in homemade wholemeal loaf breadcrumbs. If I am honest, I forgot that I had put the loaf in the oven until 2 hours later, so all it was good for was to use the unburned centre for breadcrumbs! I had put the timer on, but then forgot about it and went for a walk…
I served them with a chorizo tomato sauce, which is made simply by cubing the chorizo and frying in a little olive oil with a finely chopped clove of garlic for two minutes, adding a 400g tin of plum tomatoes, salt and pepper and oregano to taste and then cooking over a gentle heat for about 20 minutes until the tomato sauce has reduced to a nice thick consistency.
500g prepared pumpkin that has been peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes
300g prepared potato, that has been peeled and cubed
130g drained weight red kidney beans (a 215g can provides this amount)
1 red onion, peeled and diced
2½ tsp harissa paste or you could use chilli sauce or dried chillies to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds
20g parmesan cheese, finely grated
salt and pepper
200g breadcrumbs
a little olive oil
a little butter
Method
Put the cubed pumpkin onto a baking tray, sprinkle with olive oil and roast in the oven at 200° c (400°f, gas mark 6) for 15-20 mins until soft and beginning to brown at the edges. In the meantime place the cubed potato in a pan and just cover with water and boil until tender. Fry the onion in a little oil and a little butter for 5-10 mins over a gentle heat until translucent. Drain the kidney beans and place into a large bowl. Dry fry the cumin seeds over a medium heat for two minutes until their smell is beginning to be released. When the pumpkin, potatoes and onion are all cooked add them to the kidney beans. Add the harissa paste, the cumin seeds, the parmesan and salt and pepper to taste and mash the mixture well. If you have time allow the mixture to cool. Place the breadcrumbs onto a plate. When the mixture is cool shape into patties and dip each patty well into the breadcrumbs. You can now place them in the fridge until you are ready to cook. When you are ready place the patties onto a baking tray and cook in a preheated oven at 180°c (350°f, gas mark 4) for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
