*** EDIT - this vegan pea and mint fritters recipe was first posted in November 2018, but I have since tweaked and improved the recipe and added new photos - I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! ***
We all know the feeling after a big Sunday roast - or even a Christmas lunch - of feeling uncomfortably full and vouching that you’ll never need to eat again. You might even be fooled into thinking you don’t need to prepare anything for dinner. But, surely enough, that slightly-too-full feeling subsides and inevitably hunger, somehow, creeps up on us later in the day. That’s when something light, healthy, tasty, and easy to prepare with ingredients you’re likely to have lying around comes in really handy.
These vegan pea and mint fritters are definitely the answer. They’re seriously delicious, with the perfect combination of fragrant sweet peas and subtle fresh mint. They go golden and crispy on the outside while staying soft and tender in the middle.
Plus they’re really quick and easy to make, and are super healthy, providing lots of protein, fibre, vitamins A, C, and K, B-vitamins, iron, and manganese, thanks to the greens they’re packed with. All while being pretty low in calories (check out the nutrition info at the bottom of the post).
They’re best eaten fresh and hot out of the pan, served with a simple salad and a yoghurt dip. But they reheat well in the oven, and are also delicious used like a falafel in a pitta, or just on their own as a snack (they keep in the fridge for up to three days).
Vegan Pea and Mint Fritters Recipe
Ingredients (makes 12 fritters):
240g frozen peas
150g frozen spinach
1/2 white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup oat milk (60g)
1/2 cup fresh mint (and/or basil and dill)
1/2 cup plain flour (65g)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
For the yoghurt dip
1/2 cup plain soy yoghurt
1 Tbsp fresh chopped mint
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Method:
Start by thawing your frozen peas and spinach - either leave out for a few hours or add to a bowl of boiling water for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat, finely dice your 1/2 onion, and sauté for 7-8 minutes. Mince your garlic and add to the pan and continue to sauté for another 1-2 minutes, until the onion is softened.
Drain the peas and spinach well and throw into a food processor. Also throw in the sautéed onion and garlic (save the pan for later, just wipe out with a piece of kitchen paper if necessary), nutritional yeast, lemon juice, fresh herbs and oat milk. Blitz until a rough paste is formed (it’s quite nice to have some of the peas still intact for texture). This also works well using a handheld stick blender.
In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Then stir through the pea mixture and fold to combine.
Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in the frying pan saved from earlier. Take a heaped Tbsp of the mixture and carefully dollop into the pan, flattening with the spoon to shape into a small fritter.
Fry for 4-5 minutes, or until golden and crispy, then flip over to cook for another 4-5 minutes on the other side (tip - don’t try and move them too soon, they’re much easier to move once they’ve turned golden and crispy underneath).
Mix the yoghurt dip ingredients together in a ramekin and serve with a simple salad.
Nutrition (per two pea fritters):
Protein: 5.9g (Women: 11.8% / Men: 10.7%)
Iron: 2.3mg (Women: 15.6% / Men: 26.4%)
Calories: 137 (Women: 6.9% / Men: 5.5%)
Sugars: 2.9g (Women: 3.2% / Men: 2.4%)
Total Fats: 5.3g (Women: 7.6% / Men: 5.6%)
Saturated Fats: 0.7g (Women: 3.5% / Men: 2.3%)
Salt: 0.6g (Women: 10.0% / Men: 10.0%)
Fibre: 3.6g (Women: 12.0% / Men: 12.0%)
See the Nutrition Info page for more details on % of Dietary Reference Values for men and women.
