Winter Vegetable Cakes with a Cheesy Bechamel Sauce

Did you know Spotify has a radio channel? I didn't until this very day, my flatmate put it on, and we blasted it through the speakers as I was cooking up these lovely vegetable cakes below.

We're talking Counting Crows, Blur, Britney Speaks, N'Sync, Backstreet Boys, No Doubt, Lou Bega - I jest not. It was 90s-tastic and then some!

But, let's talk food, as I assume that is why you manage to stumble upon these here words. I found this recipe in the ever so lovely Sophie Dahl's cook book, but had to change it sliiightly, based on what I had at hand!

Winter Vegetable Cakes with a Cheesy Bechamel Sauce
(Serves 2 as a main, 3 as Lunch, and 6 as a light Starter)

Cooked-pre-fried-but-still-delicious state of vegetable patties

2-3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large potato, diced
1/3 celeriac, diced (about 200g)
A handful curly kale
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper
1 tsp butter
1 small onion or 1/3 leek, finely chopped
A handful of spinach, torn

For the sauce:
1 cup milk (+ 1/2 tsp vegetable stock powder if using soy or nut-milk)
1 tbsp butter
A bit of salt and pepper
25g grated cheese
Fresh (finely chopped) or dry parsley
1 tsp arrowroot, or 2 tsp cornflour mixed with a bit of water

- Start by making the vegetable cakes: Have the carrot, potato, celeriac and kale in a medium casserole and cover with boiling water, add a bit of salt and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain, and then mix in 1 tbsp butter, salt and butter and mash. Set aside.

- Heat 1 tsp oil in a small frying pan, and have the onion/leek and spinach in to soften for a few minutes. Add to the vegetable mixture and chill for about an hour in the fridge (if you have the patience!).

- Now, take out the vegetable mixture from the fridge and shape into 6 vegetable cakes. Heat butter in a large frying pan on medium heat, and fry for a good few minutes on each side until lovely and golden. Flip every few minutes, but be careful not to break them.

- As the vegetable cakes are cooking, you can make the sauce! Take a small frying pan or casserole and heat up the butter and milk along with the salt, pepper and parsley. Right before it starts bubbling, turn down the heat and mix in the cheese. Then, mix the arrowroot powder/cornflour with about 50ml water or milk and whisk lightly to get rid of the lumps, now pour it into your sauce and allow for it to thicken after a couple of minutes.

Once your vegetable cakes are golden, and the sauce it's done - it's ready to serve!

I only fried four of these, as I was sort of hungry, and only cooking for myself. BUT the remaining two vegetable cakes I had pre-fried and with a little sweet chilli sauce, it was the bomb!

Do you have a favourite veggie-burger or vegetable cake recipe?

I cannot believe it is already December, can you?
Because I work in a place that leaves me either regularly snacking on, serving, or finding myself partially covered with chocolate, I had to stay away from the traditional chocolate calendar this year. So yesterday after work, I went to the shops and bought 24 flumps, remember them? THE marshmallow of all marshmallows, that tastes like chewy sugar clouds, if they were made of marshmallow anyway... The girl behind the counter looked at me both confused and amused, and when I explained the situation, she totally understood. And so it was the Julie went back to her flat and pieced together her own questionable advent calendar like so:

I stuck a number to each of them, and made sure I have three per string, so that when I go to Norway on the 22nd, I have the last three to take with me ^ ^

And the straw-bucks are in place in the window sill now!

I hope you have had a good start to your December so far, do you have an advent calendar?


Inspired by:
From Season to Season, p. 45

- Jules