Breadfruit Patties
Breadfruit Patties with sauteed kale and poached eggs.
Life’s lessons are usually a delightful surprise for me. Take breadfruit for example. Even though I’ve covered it for Wootens Produce of Kauai and last year’s Breadfruit Festival, I have learned even more about one of my favorite staple items.
While researching today’s article in The Garden Island newspaper, I referred to two books: Hooulu ka Ulu Cookbook: Breadfruit tips, techniques, and Hawaii’s favorite home recipes and Breadfruit Production Guide: Recommended practices for growing, harvesting, and handling. These short, easy-to-read books were published early this year and they inspire the reader to grow and cook breadfruit.
The cookbook illustrates many creative ways to prepare it, which filled my imagination with a breadfruit feast. It’s a starch with a mild flavor and can basically be used as a blank canvass. It’s used to make gluten-free bread and baked goods as well as pies, soups, curries, gratins and much more.
The following recipe is inspired from the cookbook and can be eaten as a sandwich, with a fresh salad, or topped with sauteed greens and poached eggs.
For more information, including how to select and cook breadfruit, read today’s article “The ins and outs of breadfruit.”
Makes 10 patties.
1/2 mature breadfruit, cooked and cored
3 eggs
2 tablespoons Black Dog Farms Roasted Lemon hot sauce (optional)
4 scallions, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 cup meat, cubed (leftover teri or roast chicken work well)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon basil, minced (or whatever you have on hand)
1 teaspoon Hawaiian sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Crack eggs into a small bowl, add hot sauce and whisk until blended. Set aside. Place breadfruit into a medium-sized bowl and crumble with hands, until it resembles a fine meal with some nuggets and shards. Add scallions, meat, lemon basil, salt and pepper and stir through. Add eggs and combine. Warm an 8-inch skillet over low heat and shape mixture into 10 patties. Increase heat to medium and fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. For best results, fry in two batches using 1 tablespoon of oil each time.