Traditionally a croquette is a fried item combining mashed potatoes, meat, and seasonings, which is then coated in breadcrumbs and pan-fried and served with ketchup. Sparing the sour cream, our croquette recipe is vegan and uses sweet potatoes in place of mashed potatoes for sweetness and a good boost of Vitamin A. The fresh herbs and lime juice make for a really zesty flavor.

The health benefits of quinoa (a complete protein, 9 essential amino acids) are through the roof. It is chock full of riboflavin and has as much protein as a glass of milk. Supposedly, Inca warriors had more stamina and quicker recovery time when they ate quinoa seeds, making it a truly ancient powerfood (making it perfect for after hikes!)

Serve this dish with any vegetable of your choice. The croquettes keep for a day, cooked, in the refrigerator.

Croquettes:

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon cumin seed
• 2 cups diced onion
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced
• ¼  teaspoon allspice
• 2 cups mashed, cooked sweet potato, skin off (1 large sweet potato)
• 3 cups cooked quinoa, cooked according to package instructions and cooled
• 1-14oz can black beans, drained
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1-2 teaspoon lime zest
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• sea salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• olive oil

Pumpkin Seed Cream (optional)

• ½ cup cashews
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon Tabasco (optional)
• ½ cup sour cream
• salt and pepper

1) Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and roast at 400F, until you can easily pierce with a fork (40-50 minutes). Leave to cool, then peel and roughly mash in a bowl.

2) Saute the cumin seed in a 2 teaspoons of olive oil over low heat for a minute.

3) Add the diced onion, the cayenne pepper, and the minced garlic. Cook over medium low heat until the onions are very soft.

4) Remove from heat, then add the oregano, allspice.

5) Mix the mashed sweet potato, the onion mixture, cooked quinoa, black beans, lime juice, lime zest, and cilantro in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and add some olive oil if it seems too dry (you want the mixture to be moist enough to form into patties).

6) Form the mix into patties the size and width of your choice. Refrigerate for up to 2 hours, and at least 30 minutes, covered, to help the patties set.

7) Right before serving, saute the patties in olive oil for 3-4 minutes a side, until golden brown and heated through.

8) Serve with pumpkin chipotle cream, if using.

Pumpkin Seed Chipotle Cream

1) In a food processor, pulse until finely ground the cashews and the pumpkin seeds.

2) Add the garlic and pulse.

3) Add the lime juice, sour cream, dijon mustard and Tabasco and pulse until combined.

4) Season with salt and pepper and serve with the croquettes.