Pea Cakes with Poached Eggs

Serves 4

Here’s an eye-candy dish that looks like it’s a lot more effort than it actually is. Just make sure you don’t overcook the pea cakes or you risk drying them out. Consider topping it all off with a few dashes of smoked paprika or hot sauce.

1/2 cup (125 ml) dried green split peas
1 medium-sized bintje potato (about 225 g), peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp (40 ml) wholegrain flour of choice
2 cups (500 ml) spinach
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped fresh basil or mint
1 tsp (5 ml) ground coriander 
1/2 tsp (2 ml) sea salt
4 large free-range eggs
3 tsp (15 ml) white distilled vinegar
1 Tbsp (20 ml) chopped chives

Place dried split peas in bowl, cover with generous amount of water and soak for several hours or overnight.

Steam or boil potato until very tender and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Drain peas and place them in bowl of food processor along with cooked potato, flour, spinach, spring onions, garlic, lemon juice, basil or mint, coriander and salt. Process until mixture is a coarse purée—not perfectly smooth, but with no whole peas remaining.

Form pea mixture into 4 patties about 1 in (2.5 cm) thick and place them on a baking paper- or silicone-lined baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes or until just barely set.

Meanwhile, to poach eggs fill large frying pan with water and bring to a boil. Break eggs into separate teacups or small bowls. Add vinegar to boiling water. Gently tip eggs into pan and immediately turn off heat; cover pan tightly. Let sit for 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, carefully remove poached eggs from water and set on clean tea towel to drain.

Serve each pea cake topped with a poached egg and chopped chives.

Each serving contains: 984 kilojoules; 15 g protein; 6 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 33 g total carbohydrates (4 g sugars, 8 g fibre); 381 mg sodium ‡

source: "Little Green Giants", alive Australia #19, Autumn 2014