Albóndigas de bacalao veganas (banana blossom potatties)

Light and soft baked patties made of potatoes, banana blossom and seaweed.


Hola!

Today I bring you my plant-based take on traditional recipe from Comunidad Valenciana. I called them banana blossom potatties (potato + patties). I thought it sounds funny and it’s easy to remember. Plus, I struggled to find a suitable translation for the original cod meatballs (albóndigas de bacalao). My potatties are made of, as you might have guessed, potatoes, banana blossom and seaweed, to give it a sea flavour. They are light and soft, because they are baked and not fried, and they have a garlic punch that goes very well with the potato creaminess. The banana blossom brings some interesting texture similar to fish. Although they might look like croquettes, I cannot call them that because croquettes are breaded and my recipe doesn’t use breadcrumbs.

I used to love when my iaia made these. And the worst thing is that she would serve them in a massive platter, so they were like Pringles: once you pop, you can’t stop. Now that I’m a grownup and very health-conscious, I put 7-8 per person and add a massive side dish. You may find these or croquettes served as tapas at a Spanish bar, but it is also very common to have them as a main. Think that they are made of potatoes, so serving them with chips or potato mash would be potato overload. Choose some nice and healthy vegetables like green beans, sprouting broccoli or kale. I used samphire for the photos, since it goes well with sea flavours and they are naturally salty (my guilty pleasure).

PLANT POWER, MAKE UP!

I used seaweed and banana blossom for the vegan cod feel, and I decided to bake them to make them healthier, but you can also fry them.



ALBÓNDIGAS DE BACALAO VEGANAS (BANANA BLOSSOM POTATTIES)

Makes: 30 potatties
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Bake 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2l (8 cups) veggie stock
500g potato (5 medium potatoes)
4 tbsp. wakame/nori flakes seaweed
2 garlic cloves, peeled
15g fresh parsley
1 can banana blossom in water (250g net weight)
2 tbsp. pine nuts
1 tsp. paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Bring the veggie stock to a boil, add the seaweed and the potatoes (washed). Simmer for 30 minutes (we want them very soft) and rinse under cold water to cool down.
  2. In the meantime, pestle the garlic and parsley leaves with salt and pepper until you get a paste.
  3. Shred the banana blossom with your fingers to keep the fibrose texture. Put in a colander and squeeze all the liquid out. Put it in a big bowl.
  4. Squeeze the seaweed and chop it until fine, but only take 1/4 cup to add to the banana blossom bowl. Peel the potatoes, add them in roughly big pieces to the bowl and mash them. Add the mortar content, pine nuts and paprika, and mix to form a pliable dough. Taste it and adjust seasoning if needed or add more seaweed. Put the dough in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight, especially if you're going to fry them.
  5. Preheat the oven at 220°C. Start shaping the potatties as if they were croquettes and put them on a lined baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden-brown. You can also deep fry them in oil.
Keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

You can also freeze them raw and bake from frozen for about 30 minutes.

Bon profit!