pea breakfast fritters w/fried egg, greens + smoked yogurt

Like falafel and accara, these fritters are made by blending soaked but uncooked legumes into a rough paste and then frying to cook through. I prefer the look of these when made with yellow split peas, but the green will work A-OK too. You can, of course, serve them just as you would falafel or accara, but I’ve been liking them pressed flat into the pan and then used as a vehicle for other vegetables. If I were really cute and fancy, I’d make these with fried quail eggs and microgreens for an early morning soirée. Turns out I’m neither of those two things, so I make the fritters in big batches and then freeze the leftovers to repurpose when I need something to hold down an all-vegetable meal. They also work well fried and then cut into smaller pieces and used in place of croutons in a salad. The pickles add brightness and a subtle, can’t- quite-put-my-finger-on-that-flavor tang, but can of course be left out if you don’t have any on hand.

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Step 1

Line a baking sheet with a rack or paper towels.

Step 2

In a food processor, blend the soaked peas, onion, garlic, pickle spears, herbs, spices, and salt into a coarse but even paste.

Step 3

Heat 1 in [2.5 cm] of neutral oil in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Scoop 1/4 cup [34 g] of the paste into the hot oil and then flatten into a pancake by pressing with the back of a spoon. Repeat to fill the pan. Brown one side, about 4 minutes, and then flip and brown the other. Let drain on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with any uncooked mixture.

Step 4

Whisk together the yogurt, balsamic vinegar, and smoked salt.

Step 5

Discard the oil from the frying pan (be careful, as it is probably still hot), wipe clean, and heat a glug of neutral oil over high heat. Add the greens with a pinch of salt and toss to coat in the hot oil. Push the greens to the sides to make a little nest. Crack the egg into the center of the nest, then season with salt and pepper.

Step 6

Add the white wine (it will spit and sputter) and cover with a lid to steam the egg with the evaporating wine.

Step 7

When the egg is cooked to your liking, scoop the greens and nested egg, place on top of a fritter, drizzle with the smoked yogurt, and serve.

Step 8

Note: If the fritters are made well in advance (or pulled from the freezer), they can be reheated by toasting in either a dry frying pan or a hot oven.

Step 9

Top the warm fritter with 1/2 cup [125 ml] of Ratatouille (page 57) and several tears of basil over the top. Adding some cheese like fresh mozzarella or goat cheese here would be *chef’s kiss*.

Step 10

Top the warm fritters with red cabbage, cut thinly as you would for coleslaw and dressed with several spoonfuls of Ras el Hanout Apricot Almond Rig (page 49) or the Lemon Parsley Mojo (page 48) or Mojo de Ajo (page 48) or Giardiniera (page 53)—you get the idea.