Courgette and Potato Cakes + Vegan Cheese Sauce

Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano.

These potato cakes are so easy and delicious to make!
You can prepare them in advance, make in bulks and freeze, pan fry, deep fry, oven bake…!
The possibilities are limitless!

Limitless possibilities also for the filling!
I decided to stuff these easy potato cakes with sautéed courgettes and an oozy-cheesy turmeric sauce: a combination that is a bomb!

To keep this recipe very simple and straightforward I only used an homemade mash potato for the crust. This hack gives the cakes a rosti-style texture, which I personally adore, although if you want to achieve a firmer and crunchier cake you can add 2-3 tablespoons of any of the following: cornstarch, tapioca powder, rice flour or any gluten free flour mix if you want to keep it naturally gluten free, otherwise all purpose flour will do as well.

To make these potato cakes you will only need 3 components:

1. A very firm mash potato
2. Delicious sautéed courgettes
3. My ultimate turmeric cheese sauce

Let’s see how to make each component!

How to make a quick potato mash

A potato mash only requires 3 ingredients: salt, spices and, of course, potatoes!

For this recipe not all potatoes will do, I’m afraid.
The starchier, the better!
To make these cakes I used Russet potatoes, but a great substitute would also be Yukon Gold potatoes.

For the mash we will need to:

• wash the potatoes very well
• prick the skin all around with a fork
• microwave for 20 minutes @ 800W (+10 minutes resting time)
• peel the skin off and mash!

Easy peasy.

During summer the microwave becomes my best ally in the kitchen: it doesn’t release too much heat and it cuts cooking time by a lot!

Probably the thing I use it for the most are steamed potatoes, for both mash or potato salads.

If you haven’t tried this method yet to cook your potatoes, I’m sure it will be a game changer for you!

Sautéed Courgettes

Sautéed courgettes are an easy and refreshing side that I personally make at least once a week, but very often even two times a week.

To make it we will only require:

• 2-3 courgettes (the smaller, the better)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• fresh mint

We start by finely chopping the garlic. Then we slice the courgettes about 3 mm thick.
Then we heat up some oil in a pan, and add the garlic and the sliced courgette. Season with salt (and pepper if you like) it) and cook on medium-high heat until caramelized, making sure to stir and turn the courgettes every 3-4 minutes.
Overall sautéed courgettes will require around 20 minutes to cook.
We finish it with some fresh mint, and they’re ready!

If I am to eat these courgettes as a side, I also like to season them with balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze.

Last but not least we need to prepare the cheese sauce.

Since I use this sauce a lot in my recipes, I decided to create a dedicated section to it on this post so it’s easier for both you and me to find it 🙂 

So versatile, I use this sauce for fillings, nachos, lasagne, mac&cheese, burgers and even on pizza!

At our place we are both literally addicted!

Here’s how to make it!

Ultimate Turmeric Cheese Sauce Recipe

Print Recipe

Ultimate Turmeric Cheese Sauce Yum

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

5 minutes

Servings

Ingredients

• 200 ml Plant Based Milk Soy
• 30 gr Tapioca Starch
• 10 gr Nutritional Yeast
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 pinch of Salt
• 1 pinch of White Pepper

Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 5 minutes Servings Ingredients 200 ml Plant Based Milk Soy 30 gr Tapioca Starch 10 gr Nutritional Yeast 1 tsp Turmeric 1/2 tsp Onion Powder 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder 1 pinch of Salt 1 pinch of White Pepper

Instructions

1. In a pan combine tapioca, nutritional yeast, turmeric, salt, onion and garlic powder.
2. Add the plantbased milk a bit at the time and stir well with a whisk to avoid forming lumps.
3. Heat the sauce on the stove until it thickens (3-4 minutes) stirring with a spatula all the time.

Assembling the Potato Cakes

Now that we have all preps done, we can start assembling these delicious potato cakes!
This recipe yields 4-8 cakes, depending on the size.
I made only 4 big cakes with this mixture, as I was planning to have as a main course, but feel free to make them smaller if you’d like to serve as a starter or for a buffet.

Depending on the size or number of cakes you want to achieve, divide the mash potato accordingly.
Divide then each portion in two, roll into balls and flat the potato mixture with the palm of your hands onto a sheet of baking paper.

Place the filling onto half of the discs then, carefully, place the other disc on the top and seal well the edges.

How to Cook the Courgette and Potato Cakes

As mentioned in the introduction of this post, we can pick serveral ways to cook these cakes:

• pan fry
• deep fry
• air fry
• oven bake

For the pictures of this post I pan fried the cakes in some vegetable oil for 8 minutes in total, and I carefully flipped the cakes half way.

You can also deep fry the cakes in abundant vegetable oil for 5 minutes, or until golden.

For a lighter version you can indeed use the air fryier. Make sure to preheat the air fryier to 200 degrees Celcius, then cook the cakes for 20 minutes.

If you, finally, prefer the oven, simply allign the cakes on a baking sheet and spray them with some vegetable oil. 
Bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes, flipping the cakes half way.

These cheesy courgette potato cakes are awesome both warm or at room temperature.

Hope you enjoyed this recipe!

If you’d like me to veganize a recipe for you, simply write your request in the comment section below!

Have a lovely day!

Cheese and Courgette Potato Cakes Recipe

Print Recipe

Cheesy Courgette and Potato Cakes Yum

These gluten-free cheesy courgette and turmeric potato cakes are so easy and delicious to make! You can prepare them in advance, make in bulks and freeze, pan fry, deep fry, oven bake…The possibilities are limitless!

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour

Servings

cakes

Ingredients

• 1 kg Potatoes
• 2 Courgettes
• 1/4 Ultimate Turmeric Cheese Sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 Garlic Cloves
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• Fresh Mint
• Salt
• Pepper
• Vegetable Oil for frying

Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 1 hour Servings cakes Ingredients 1 kg Potatoes 2 Courgettes 1/4 Ultimate Turmeric Cheese Sauce 1 tbsp olive oil 1-2 Garlic Cloves 1/2 tsp Nutmeg Fresh Mint Salt Pepper Vegetable Oil for frying

Instructions

1. Wash the potatoes very well, prick the skin with a fork, arrange into a glass bowl with a spalsh of water and microwave for 20 minutes at 800W. Allow to rest for 10 minutes without opening the microwave door.
2. Remove the potatoes from the microwave, and carefully peel the skin off while they're still warm. 
3. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then mash until smooth. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Finely chop the garlic and slice the courgettes to a 3 mm thick slices. Add to a pan with olive oil and sauté until cooked thoroughly (around 20 minutes). Turn off the heat, add some chopped mint, give it a last stir and allow to cool.
5. Once cool, combine the courgettes with the turmeric cheesy sauce.
6. Divide the mash potato into 8. Roll each portion into balls, then flat the potato mixture with the palm of your hands onto a sheet of baking paper.
7. Scoop the turmeric and courgette filling onto 4 discs. Carefully, place the other disc on top of the base and filling, and seal well the edges.
8. Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil into a pan. Fry the potato cakes on each side for 4-5 minutes until golden.
9. Transfer the potato cakes on a plate with kitchen paper to absorbe the excess of oil.
10. Serve immediately for oozy filling.

Recipe Notes

These potato cakes are also good at room temperature.
You can store the potato cakes in the fridge for up to two days.
You can also freeze the potato cakes (before cooking) and consume within a few months.