We all love a nugget, be it chicken, veggie or gold. But you’ve probably never thought about making your own, am I right? Well now you can, with this simple and relatively quick recipe for veg-filled, crispy-coated nuggets of goodness.

Makes about 15-20 nuggets, depending on how big you make them.

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into chunks
• 1 large baking potato (or some other such potato), peeled and chopped into chunks
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, chopped into little chunks
• 1/2 yellow pepper, chopped into little bits
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped into little bits
• 1/2 leek, chopped into small bits
• 2 handfuls of frozen peas
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 200g panko breadcrumbs
• bunch of fresh parsley
• bunch of fresh basil

Methods

Boil the potatoes in a saucepan for about 10 minutes or until soft and mashable.

While they’re cooking, prepare the carrot, peppers and leeks and put in a microwaveable dish and cover. Microwave for 3 minutes. Microwave the peas for 1.5 minutes

Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth and add the garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the excess water off the veg and stir into the mash. Chop the herbs and add to the mixture. Add the flour – this dries out the mixture a bit to make it the right consistency to mould into nugget shapes.

Mould the mixture into, quite frankly, what ever shape you like; they can be burgers if you’re feeling hungry. Put the panko breadcrumbs on a plate and add each nugget/burger/blob, making sure they’re completely covered.

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan. Turn the heat down to low-medium. Add a few nuggets at a time and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

And there you have it! Your own veggie nuggets! Serve with baked beans, if you’re so inclined.

The mixture will keep in the fridge (without the breadcrumbs) for a few days so if you get bored of moulding you can keep it for another day.