okara savoury cakes

As promised, here is the recipe for the left over Okara from the soy milk/tofu of my previous post.

I'm not a fan of food wastage and try to incorporate any byproducts into new recipes.

Okara is the perfect example of this. Not only is it a versatile ingredient, but also very nutritionally beneficial.

One hundred grams of wet paste contains 3.2 g of protein as well as 4.1 g of fiber and 80 mg of calcium with only 50 calories. Okara also provides small amounts of iron, niacin, riboflavin and thiamine.

Much like tofu, Okara acts like a sponge adopting its surrounding flavours.

Wet Okara paste.

Usually I add any left over Okara into a bread mix, but this time I opted for something a little different.

Savoury pancakes!

Joel says these pancakes taste potato-y, which made them the perfect candidate for a fishy compliment.

You really could top these delicious savoury cakes with whatever you choose, but I have gone with smoked trout.

Have I expressed my love for smoked trout?

No? Well, I adore smoked trout.

It's on the menu at least once a week.

Ingredients

(makes 12)

 1 1/2 c or so left over okara from making tofu

1 c buckwheat flour

1 tsp bi-carb soda

1/2 c almond milk

1 c water

pinch of salt

coconut oil for frying

Whisk all ingredients together until it comes together in a batter-like consistency.

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a heavy based pan and spoon dessert spoon sizes of the batter into the pan.

Cook each side for 5-7 minutes.

Once cooked through place on a cooling rack for a couple of minutes.

Top with your desired topping.

I have gone with some smoked trout and freshly chopped chives.

fennel, pear and smoked trout salad

Summer is fading quickly - if there ever really was one. 

So, while we are having a burst of sunny warm days I wanted to share an easy summery salad with you.

My local fish monger knows that I'll get at least one or two of these smoked trouts a week, but for the past few weeks he hasn't been able to get his hands on any.

When I tottered in to see him the other day, my eyes scanned the stock and voila! Smoked trout!

I praised him, grabbed two and headed off.

This smoked trout salad became a bit of a staple for us over the warmer months.

The simple flavours of the aniseedy fennel mixed with the sweet pear and smokey trout, work in such great harmony. 

It will only take a couple of minutes to knock together and will 'wow' any guest. Or, paired with a chilled glass of white, will have you enjoying the last of the warm weather.

Ingredients

(serves 2)

1 medium smoked trout

1 fennel bulb, shaved and soaked

1 pear, shaved

some salad greens to garnish

small handful of walnuts (per serve)

a large pinch of nigella seeds (per serve)

1 lime

Arrange your salad greens on a plate (I've used roquet and mizuna freshly picked from my garden).

Toss fennel and pear together in a bowl then arrange on top of greens.

Peel back the tough trout skin and pull away the flesh from the bones - I use my fingers but a fork would work too.

Arrange on top of fennel and pear.

Sprinkle over nuts and nigella seeds and drizzle with lime.

Serve.

xo