Dear reader,
Whether you have leftover Guinness from Saint Patrick’s Day festivities, or just enjoy cooking with beer, these Guinness-Braised Jackfruit and Potato Cakes provide the perfect meat and potato fix.
The potato cakes (traditionally known as Boxty) are naturally creamy on the inside, and crispy on the outside – serving as a nice vehicle for the gravy topper. Now, I’ll be honest, I am not the the biggest fan of jackfruit, but Guinness, with its malty sweetness and a hoppy bitterness, has notes of coffee and chocolate that seem to play quite nicely with the jackfruit. Topped with vegan sour cream and fresh scallions for a little bit a tang. A hearty appetizer for those rainy, spring days. Sláinte!
Until next time,
Bridget
Guinness Braised Jackfruit and Potato Cakes
Traditional Irish potato pancakes (aka Boxty), topped with rich, beer braised jackfruit, and garnished with vegan sour cream and scallions. This dish is warm, rich, and stick to your bones kind of delicious. A perfect meal to share on those rainy, chillier spring days.
Equipment
- Vitamix, or any high speed blender
- Food Processor (Optional) A large boxed grater will also work
- Large, nonstick skillet
- Large, heavy bottomed, lidded pot or dutch oven
Ingredients
Potato Cakes
- 1 48 ounce bag of yellow potatoes, washed and peeled half will be grated raw, and the other half will be boiled and mashed
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour 1:1 gluten free flour also works
- ⅓ cup plant milk
- 4 teaspoons salt, divided 2 teaspoons for the boiled potatoes, 2 teaspoons for the pancake mixture
- ⅓ cup green onion, thinly sliced plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper season to taste
- avocado oil, or any neutral oil as needed, to grease the skillet
Guinness Braised Jackfruit
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil, or any neutral oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 14 oz cans organic young jackfruit: drain the brine from the can, squeeze out any access water, and use two forks to pull apart the jackfruit pieces
- 1 cup Guinness beer
- 1 tablespoon maple optional
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms
- ¼ cup raw cashews soaked or boiled for about 10 minutes before using (if you do not have a high power blender)
- 2 cloves garlic, skins removed
- 1 teaspoon salt season to taste
- 1 cup water
Vegan Sour Cream
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked or boiled for about 10 minutes before using (if you do not have a high power blender)
- ⅓ cup water
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ lemon juiced, or about 1½ tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon mustard I use dijon
- generous pinch of salt, season to taste!
Instructions
To prepare the vegan sour cream:
- Add all of the sour cream ingredients to a high speed blender and blend on high until it is smooth and creamy. Store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To prepare the potato cakes:
- Divide the washed and peeled potatoes in half-one half will be boiled and mashed, the other half will be grated raw.
- First, cut the potatoes that will be boiled in quarters, put them in a pot, cover them with water, and boil for about 10-15 minutes (until fork tender). While they are boiling away, grate the remaining half of the raw potatoes. Once the boiled potatoes are done, use a potato masher, fork, or whisk, to mash the potatoes in a large bowl until smooth.
- Combine mashed potatoes, grated potatoes, flour, milk, salt, pepper, and green onion in a large bowl. It should look and feel like extremely thick pancake batter-scoopable, and not too runny (if the batter seems too dry, add a bit of milk, if the batter seems too wet, add a bit of flour).
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and swirl the pan to coat. Using a ¼ measuring cup, scoop 3 to 4 portions of the batter into the skillet, spacing them evenly apart. Lightly flatten each pancake. Cook until brown and crispy on the bottom, about 4 minutes on each side. Reduce the heat if the pancakes are darkening too quickly. Repeat with the remaining batter.
To prepare the Guinness Braised Jackfruit
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
- Toss the mushrooms and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, then roast them in the oven for 25 minutes.
- While the mushrooms and garlic are roasting: In a large, heavy bottomed, lidded pot or dutch oven, saute the onion with a pinch of salt in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat until tender and translucent (about 3-5 minutes).
- Add the pulled jackfruit to the pan with the onions, and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- In a Vitamix or high speed blender, combine soaked cashews, salt, roasted garlic and mushrooms, and 1 cup of water. Blend on high until it becomes smooth and creamy (think gravy consistency). If it's too thick, add water. Season with additional salt to taste.
- Pour the mushroom gravy and Guinness into the pan with the jackfruit and onions, and reduce the heat to low. Allow it to simmer and reduce for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point, you'll want to taste test for seasoning, add additional salt as needed, along with the (optional) maple. Once the liquid has evaporated, remove the braised jackfruit from the heat and serve over potato cakes immediately.
Compile the dish:
- Stack it how you like it! I use the potato cake as the base, then pile on the guinness braised jackfruit, and garnish with a generous scoop of vegan sour cream plus a sprinkle of green onion.
Did you make this? Comment below and let me know what you think. Don’t forget to follow @sunnyandspiced on Instagram for more travel eats and plant based recipes.
s & S