Lentil Croquettes

The Recipe

Serves: 4-6 people
Preparation: 35 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Croquettes quickly became popular in France and spread to other countries, including Spain, where they are known as "croquetas," and the Netherlands, where they are called "kroketten." Today, croquettes are enjoyed all over the world, with many variations in their fillings and coatings.

Croquettes, a wonderful French invention was developed to use leftover ingredients such as meat or cheese.
It contains a binder such as flour or potatoes and is then coated in bread crumbs and fried until golden and crispy.
Lentils and potatoes - such a hearty snack, dressed in a tangy raita or tahini sauce, how can you resist?

This recipe has a few steps but is pretty simple and can be made in bulk and frozen for later… if you don’t gobble them up at once!

THE INGREDIENTS

340g green lentils
3 bay leaves
2 clove garlic
120g onions, finely chopped
500g high starch potatoes such as Russet
4tsp chilli powder
4-5 tbsp roasted curry powder
2.5 tsp coriander powder
2.5 tsp ginger powder
2-3 tsp fine sea salt
20g chopped coriander
2 lemon zest
4-5 tbsp flour
Sunflower oil for frying

Coating
200g plain flour
300g panko crumbs
2 eggs
Have the eggs, panko and flour all in separate bowls.

THE METHOD

1. Cook the lentils in water with bay leaves and garlic until tender, strain and remove the garlic and leaves.

2. Peel and cut the potatoes into quarters, boil in salted water until crumbly.

3. Strain the water, mash the potatoes in a large bowl.

4. Fry off the chopped onion until translucent. Place into the bowl with the mashed potatoes

5. Stir in salt, spices, zest and lentils until thoroughly combined. Lastly add flour to bind the mixture

6. Shape the potato/lentil mix into medium sized patties (60g).

7. Place the patties on cling film and place them in the fridge to allow them to firm up and hold shape (overnight is ideal)

8. Dip the patties into the flour, then eggs and then panko

9. Fry until golden

10. Place onto a paper towel to drain off the excess oil

11. Serve warm with tahini sauce, raita and lemon wedges

TRY OUT SOME MAIN RECIPES BELOW

Moroccan Zaalouk and Babout

The Recipe

Serves: 3-4 people
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes

Zalouk is believed to have originated in North Africa, where eggplant and tomatoes are commonly grown. It is thought to have been influenced by the neighboring cuisines of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Eggplants are probably one of my favourite vegetables (actually it is a fruit). Thai eggplants, brinjal, aubergine, baby eggplants are so versatile to make salads, dips, curries, stews and this super easy tomato and eggplant salad.

This Moroccan salad is one of my favourite dishes and can be made a few days in advance. Just sit it at room temperature, dress with a bit of oil, lemon and a good side of batbout bread. Batbout is great as it is cooked on the stove so no oven is needed for this recipe! Batbout is even good with butter and honey – it’s reminiscent to and English Muffin of sorts.

THE INGREDIENTS

Zalouk
600g eggplant (1 medium size)
400g really ripe fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped, seeds and skin removed
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cumin
½ lemon
1 tsp honey
2 tblsp good olive oil
Chopped flat leaf parsley
Lemon juice and salt to taste

Garnish
Chopped parsley and lemon wedge

THE METHOD

Cook the eggplant over an open fire until the skin is nice and black. You also can use a grill in the oven. Place in a plastic bag and allow it to sweat it out for a bit then peel the skin. Roughly chop and set aside

Lightly fry the garlic and the tomatoes with oil on medium heat.

Add the spices to the tomato as well as honey and eggplant. Cook through for about 10-15 minutes and season with salt and lemon juice. Allow to cool before throwing in parsley leaves.

Eat at room temperature, garnish with extra parsley, olive oil and lemon wedge.

THE RECIPE – BATBOUT

Makes 6 pieces
Preparation time: 15 minutes plus proving time
Cook time: 5 minutes each

THE METHODMix the yeast with sugar and 2 tblsp warm water
Combine the flours and salt in a separate bowl
Add the oil and water to the yeast mixture
Place in an electric mixer with dough hook attachment and mix until combined and smooth
Roll and smooth out. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and allow to double in size
Turn out the dough and divide into even balls, flatten slightly and roll them in extra semolina
Heat a cast iron fry pan and cook the bread (about a minute each side), or until golden and cooked through
Serve with the delicious salad above

BABOUT

Makes: 6 pcs - Preparation Time: 15 minutes - Cooking Time: 5 minutes each

THE INGREDIENTS

1.5 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
150g plain flour
100g semolina
120-150mls water
1 tblsp olive oil

THE METHOD

Mix the yeast with sugar and 2 tblsp warm water
Combine the flours and salt in a separate bowl
Add the oil and water to the yeast mixture
Place in an electric mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix until combined and smooth.
Roll and smooth out. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with cling film, and allow to double in size
Turn out the dough and divide it into even balls, flatten slightly, and roll them in extra semolina.
Heat a cast iron fry pan and cook the bread (about a minute on each side), or until golden and cooked through.
Serve with the delicious salad above.

Sopa Azteca

The Recipe

Serves: 6-8 people
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes

The modern version of Sopa Azteca emerged during the Spanish colonial period, when the Spanish introduced new ingredients to the indigenous cuisine of Mexico. In particular, the soup's use of tortillas is believed to have been influenced by Spanish bread.

Sopa de Tortilla or Sopa Azteca is one of the most comforting dishes you could eat in Mexico. With the wonderful crunch of tortillas, buttery avocado and the chilli kick – it is balanced out wonderfully with a good squeeze of fresh lime.

This extremely easy and delicious dish was originally made with chicken stock and shredded chicken, topped with Mexican crema – this version of Sopa de Tortilla is vegetarian and completely vegan if you leave out the sour cream. Depending on the area the soup is made, Ancho or Pasilla chillies are usually used in this dish, however, they are hard to come by in Singapore, hence the canned chipotle chillies and the level of spice can be tailored to your taste buds.

THE INGREDIENTS

8-10 lovely ripe tomatoes (roughly chopped)
OR 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
350g Small can of chipotles in adobo (I used la Costena brand)
200g/ 1 medium white onion
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 tblsp tomato paste
2tblsp olive oil
600 mls vegetable stock
Salt to taste

Garnish
Chopped coriander leaves
Smashed tortilla chips
Finely chopped onion
2- 3 avocados/sliced
Lime wedges
Sour cream (optional)

THE METHOD

1. Finely chop onion and reserve about ¼ of them for the garnish

2. Blend the chipotles in adobo can to make a paste, set aside

3. In a medium saucepan, heat oil and fry the onion until transparent, add garlic and mix through

4. Add tomatoes and mix until the onion mix has become acquainted

5. Throw in tomato paste, half of the chipotle paste and half the vegetable stock

6. Allow the ingredients to mingle and reduce, simmering at a medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally

7. Add the remainder of the stock and reduce for another 10 minutes. The soup should be the consistency of a thick tomato pasta sauce.

8. When the soup is ready, season with salt to taste and add some more chipotle paste if you need more heat.

9. Place in warm bowls and garnish with chopped tortillas, coriander, avocado slices, onion and sour cream if your heart desires.

TRY OUT SOME MAIN DISHES BELOW

Beetroot Salmon

The Recipe

Serves: 6 people
Preparation: Overnight
Assembly: 10 minutes

Amongst a slathering of cream cheese squeezed with some good rye or a spongy bagel, who doesn't like a bit of cured salmon?

This old school way of preserving fish dates back to the middle ages - this is known as gravlax and finds it's origins in Nordic countries such as Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. The Nordic fisherman used to bury salted and fermented salmon in sand.

However, the actual process of curing fish is known to have begun 3000 BCE, Mesopotamia where salt and sesame oil was used in the process.  As Phoenicians started trading salt, it became commonplace in the Mediterranean so the Greeks and Romans began developing their own methods of curing fish, meat and developing some pickling methods.

The idea of curing salmon imparts and infuses flavour into the fish while under a heavyweight and the salt brings out the moisture - enabling the fish or meat to be preserved for long periods of time.

This recipe is a quick and easy way to prepare fish without using heat or too much effort. The end result is impressive in colour and surprising in texture...

THE INGREDIENTS

600g salmon, de-boned
10g dill, leaves only
300g sea salt
500g fresh beetroot
100g white wine vinegar
20g dijon mustard
50g white caster sugar

THE METHOD

1. Peel and cut beetroot into rough cubes

2. Blend the beetroot with mustard and white wine vinegar until it makes a nice paste, set aside

3. Blend the salt, dill and sugar in a spice grinder or this will work in a blender as well

4. Line a tray with 2 layers of cling film

5. Line the cling film with half the amount of beetroot mixture and half the amount of the dill salt mixture

6. Place salmon on this mixture and then pour the remainder of the salt and beetroot on top of the salmon

7. Wrap the salmon firmly with cling film.

8. Place in a box and place a considerable amount of weight on the salmon. This will squeeze out extra liquid or moisture from the fish which is ideal for the curing process. Try a few kilograms of flour, wooden boards or containers filled with water.

9. Store the fish like this overnight

10. Drain of the excess liquid and wash the salmon well to remove all the salt.

11. Slice thinly with a very sharp knife

12. Serve on rye bread with dill, capers, red onions and a good creme fraiche or sour cream