Brussels, quinoa and sweet potato cakes

A modern bubble and squeak, these make good use of leftovers and can be topped with a fried or poached egg Serves 4 200g quinoa (mix of red and white) 500ml vegetable stock or water 750g sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks Olive oil 1 large onion, finely sliced 250g Brussels sprouts, finely sliced 2 cloves garlic, crushed Finely grated zest of 1 lemon 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard 1½ tbsp chia seeds to serve 200g Greek yogurt 2 tbsp mayonnaise Finely grated zest of ½ lemon Handful of basil, chopped

1 Heat a medium pan over a high heat, add the quinoa and toast for 30 secs, shaking the pan to stop it catching. Pour in the stock or water and boil for 1 min. Turn heat to low, cover and leave to cook for 10 mins. Turn off heat and leave for 5 mins before running a fork through to separate the grains.

2 While the quinoa is cooking, boil the sweet potatoes until tender. Mash and set aside.

3 Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and gently sauté the onion for 5 mins. Turn up the heat, add the sprouts and garlic, and fry until the sprouts are tender, adding a splash of water if they start to catch.

4 Combine the quinoa, mashed sweet potato, lemon zest, mustard and chia seeds, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Shape into eight cakes and chill until needed or cook straight away.

5 Heat a glug of olive oil in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat and fry the cakes for 2–3 mins each side until golden. Mix the yogurt with the mayonnaise, lemon zest and basil, and season. Serve a couple of cakes per person with the yogurt dip. FLEX IT Serve the sweet potato cakes topped with crisp grilled bacon or with sticky roast sausages alongside. Taken from The Flexible Vegetarian by Jo Pratt (Frances Lincoln). Photography: Susan Bell