Meatless Monday: Bubble & Squeak Cakes

Welcome to Carroll Gardens Patch's weekly column in the spirit of the Meatless Monday initiative, which promotes going without meat one day a week to reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.

This week in honor of the four-day festival known as the Queen's Diamond Jubilee—celebrating Queen Elizabeth's 60 years as monarch of England—we're making a traditional British dish called Bubble & Squeak Cakes, so-called for the noises they make while cooking in the pan. 

The recipe is adapted from a version found in The Good Housekeeping Book of British Food. It's simple, made from inexpensive ingredients and has a fun name. Give 'er a try, guv'na!

Bubble & Squeak Cakes

Ingredients

1 1/4 lb old potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized chunks
4 oz. butter
6 oz. leeks, trimmed and finely shredded
6 oz. green cabbage, finely shredded
All-Purpose flour, to dust
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Cook potatoes in a large pan of lightly salted boiling water until tender; drain and mash.

2. Heat 2 oz. of the butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Add leeks and cabbage; fry for 5 minutes or until soft and beginning to color. Combine the leeks and cabbage with the mashed potatoes, season with salt and pepper; let cool. When cool enough to handle, mould into 12 cakes and dust with flour.

3. Heat oil and remaining butter in a non-stick frying pan. Cook cakes in for 4 minutes on each side or until golden, crisp and hot all the way through. Serve immediately.

Nutrition per cake: 130 calories, 10g fat, 10g carbs, .2g salt