TASTY THAI BUTTER BEAN PATTIES

When it comes to Thai food in the UK you can often get lumbered with red and green curries. As nice as they are, it's nice to try something different sometimes. When I whipped up these butter bean patties I wasn't expecting them to be Thai inspired but on first bite, those flavors of lemon, coriander, chili and sesame all work together to give them a distinctive taste of the east. The great thing about them is that other than boiling some potatoes, all you really need to do is chuck everything in a bowl and mix together and then roll the mixture of polenta for some added crunch. Simples!

Butter beans may be something you have a neglected tin of in your cupboard and this is a brilliant way to use them up. If you don't have any or don't like them you can use cannolini beans instead. Black eye beans might work but try and avoid using something like kidney beans as the taste of them just doesn't work with the Thai flavors of the patties.

As for all the other ingredients I wouldn't mess around with them too much. I think the balance of the flavors is spot on. You can however leave the chili out if your not a fan of spice. Try and use fresh coriander and parsley if you can as well. Their flavor is more fragrant than using dried herbs and dried herbs can also make the patties taste a bit gritty.

Polenta makes a deliciously light and crispy coating to these patties and bake beautifully in the oven. If you don't have any polenta or you want a bit more crunch to your patties you can use some panko breadcrumbs instead but just keep an eye on them when they are in the oven as they are prone to catching and becoming bunt and nobody wants that now do they.

The recipe below will make 8 delicious patties, that 2 each for a family of four or if you want you can wrap the patties in film once you've shaped them into patties and freeze them. That way you can remove them later, coat them in the polenta and bake. They are fabulous little thing to have in the freezer ready to go for when you're looking for a quick evening meal.

Thai Butter Bean Patties

3 Peeled And Cubed Medium Potatoes

400g Can Of Butter Beans

1 Finely Diced Red Onion

1 Finely Chopped Red Chili

2 Finely Diced Spring Onion

Handfull Of Chopped Coriander Leaves

Handfull Of Chopped Parsley Leaves

2 Tsp Dijon Mustard

Zest Of 1 Lemon

1 Whole Egg

1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar

1 Tsp Sesame Oil

Salt And Pepper To Season

100g Polenta

1. Begin by boiling the potatoes until they are soft enough to mash. Don't over do it so they are ridiculously soft, you want them to have a bit of firmness to them so that the patties hold together. When ready, drain and chuck them into a large bowl. 
2. Drain the butter beans and add them to the bowl with the potatoes and mash everything together. Don't go too mad, you want a little bit of texture to remain in the potatoes and beans. 
3. Add all the other ingredients apart from the polenta, seasoning liberally with salt and pepper and give everything a good mix together until everything is well combined.
4. Divide the mixture into 8 and form each portion into patties and place them on a baking tray lined with grease proof paper. Cover with film and pop in the fridge to firm up for at least 1 hour. 
5. When the patties have firmed up, turn on your oven to 220 degrees (200 fan). Tip the polenta onto a plate and one by one, take the patties and dip them in the polenta until they a coated all over, shaking off any excess. 
6. Pop them back on the baking tray and spray them with a bit of oil on each side before popping them in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, flipping the patties carefully halfway through so they are crisp all over. 

Carefully remove the Thai butter bean patties from the oven and serve immediately so that they are piping hot inside when they hit the plate. The butter beans with the flavors of the chili, rice wine vinegar, lemon and coriander all work together to create a deliciously fragrant Thai flavor to these patties that will dance over your taste buds when you crunch through that crispy polenta coating making them a perfect accompaniment for my Bang Bang salad. It's such a simple recipe too that you'll tucking into these tasty Thai treats all the time. Who thought butter beans could be so brilliant!