Staying-at-home Friendly Recipe: Lentil Fritters.
While we are all at home, helping to flatten the curve, you might find yourself trying to come up with new places to clean, or perhaps new recipes to cook? I know I am! I thought you would enjoy this easy and yummy recipe. I picked lentils because they are such a great bulk staple and quite inexpensive.
I am particularly proud of this recipe, as it is gluten, dairy, and egg free; and they are so yummy!!
This recipe requires having some ingredients cooked already : your sofrito and your lentils (see recipes below). Once you have these ready to go, you can create versatile recipes with them, such as these amazing lentil fritters.
Time: 25 minutes
Makes: 8
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of lentils, cooked.
- ¼ sofrito
- 1 ½ tbs. chickpea flour
- 1 ½ tbs. psyllium husk
- ¼ cup water
- Sea salt, to taste
- 1 tbs. avocado oil to cook the fritters.
Instructions:
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor, and process for about 15 seconds or until everything is well mixed.
- Form little balls of about 1 inch (2.5 cm) diameter, gently pressing between your hands at the end to form a flattened round. Set aside.
- Add avocado oil into a frying pan and place in medium heat.
- Once the oil is nice and warm, not too hot or smoky, add the lentil flattened balls.
- Cook each side until crispy and golden (about 6 minutes).
- You might have to do this in two batches as you don’t want to overcrowd the pan.
- Transfer to a cooling rack. Let them rest until warm.
Serve these delicious fritters with a salad, as the “meaty” part of a sandwich, on their own with a nice dip, or however else you like. Enjoy!
Sofrito
*You can make this recipe ahead of time
This recipe is a staple in South American kitchens. Basically it is a base of flavors that we incorporate in many of our dishes. I use it for eggs, add it to potato salads, as a base for soups, as the first layer of flavoring for sauces, and of course to season these delicious lentil fritters.
Tip: I usually batch cook it and store it in the fridge for future use for up to one week.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium size white onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large tomatoes. Make sure they are nice and plump.
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 3 green onions chopped
- ½ tsp. cumin
- 2 tbsp. water if needed.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions:
- In a medium saucepan add olive oil and onion.
- Cook the white onion in olive oil until translucent, about five minutes.
- Add garlic making sure not to burn it.
- Cook gently for a few more minutes then add the tomatoes and green onions.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Lower heat and stir everything together.
- Simmer until the tomatoes are fully cooked (about 10 minutes) and the sauce has thickened.
- This recipe usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes on low heat.
Pro tips: Do not cover with a lid. Add 1 tsp tamari at the end.
Lentils
*You can make this recipe ahead of time.
I like to soak lentils overnight, but if you are running out of time you can get away with soaking for approximately four hours.
This is a basic cooking method for lentils as we are not making soup but rather want them nice and soft so you can make a paste and use them as a base for the lentil fritters. If you want to make Lentil Soup try my delicious recipe here.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dry lentils. Ideally soaked overnight
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 4 cups water.
Instructions:
- Drain overnight soaked lentils and discard water. Give them a quick rinse.
- Put into a medium sized saucepan, add water and salt.
- Cook over medium heat for about one hour or until well done.
- Once cooked, drain well.
- Lentils should be soft but not mushy.
Use as directed in recipe.