Whatshot
Butter Bean & Sweet corn Garden Patties
Butter Bean & Sweet corn Garden Patties
Date: 2026-07-31
Gourmet veggie burger patties built from your pantry; creamy butter beans and potato, sweet bursts of corn, fresh herbs, and toasted nuts and seeds for crunch. Rustic, elegant, and real food.
There's a particular smell that fills a kitchen when onions hit warm olive oil; sweet, a little sharp, unmistakably the start of something. Tonight, that smell is the beginning of dinner for my son and his girlfriend, and as it drifts through the house, I find myself thinking about how far we've drifted, all of us, from this simple ritual.
We live in a world that has made forgetting how to cook feel almost reasonable. Somewhere between the rise of the drive-thru and the glow of the delivery app on our phones, "dinner" quietly became a transaction instead of an act of care. We order in bags of grease-stained cardboard and call it convenience. We hand our kids something wrapped in bright packaging and call it a treat. And slowly, without quite meaning to, we let go of the idea that food made with our own hands, from things that we brought from trusted source, could be just as fast, just as satisfying; maybe more so.
We don't have to choose between what's easy and what's good for us. We don't have to accept that "fast" and "junk" are the same word. Sometimes all it takes is what's already sitting in the fridge, a hot pan, and twenty quiet minutes of chilling in between, time enough to set the table, pour a berry compote, and remember why we cook for the people we love in the first place.
Ingredients
400 grams cooked red butter beans, drained and lightly mashed
300 grams cooked potatoes, mashed
150 grams sweet corn kernels
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
30 grams pine nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
30 grams pumpkin seeds, toasted and roughly chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided (for sautéing and frying)
1 teaspoons salt
0.5 teaspoons black pepper, freshly cracked
Direction:
1. Toast the nuts and seeds: In a dry pan over medium heat, toast 30 grams pine nuts, toasted and roughly chopped and 30 grams pumpkin seeds, toasted and roughly chopped for 3 minutes, tossing often, until golden and fragrant. Tip onto a board, roughly chop, and set aside to cool.
2. Sauté the aromatics: Heat 1 tbsp. of 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided (for sautéing and frying) in the same pan over medium heat. Add 1 medium onion, finely diced and cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent, then stir in 2 garlic cloves, minced and cook for 1 more minute until fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
3. Build the base: In a large bowl, combine 400 grams cooked red butter beans, drained and lightly mashed and 300 grams cooked potatoes, mashed. Mash together with a fork until mostly smooth but still with a little texture, this is what holds your patties together.
4. Bring it all together: Fold in the sautéed onion and garlic, 150 grams sweet corn kernels, 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped, 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped, and the toasted 30 grams pine nuts, toasted and roughly chopped and 30 grams pumpkin seeds, toasted and roughly chopped. Season with 1 teaspoons salt and 0.5 teaspoons black pepper, freshly cracked. Mix well until evenly combined.
5. Shape the patties: Divide the mixture into 6-8 portions and shape into firm patties about 2cm thick. Place on a plate or tray, cover, and chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, this firms them up so they hold together beautifully when cooked.
6. Pan-fry until golden: Heat the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided (for sautéing and frying) in a non-stick or cast iron pan over medium heat. Fry the patties for 9 minutes per side, without moving them too soon, until deeply golden and crisp on the outside and warmed through.
Serve:
Serve warm in a bun with your favourite trimmings, or on their own with a simple green salad and a dollop of yoghurt or a squeeze of lemon.
Notes:
If your mixture feels too soft to shape, chill it a little longer rather than adding flour, the starch from the potato and beans will firm up nicely in the fridge. For extra golden crusts, resist the urge to flip too early; let a proper crust form first.