Crescent Dragonwagon's Lentil Croquettes

Lentil Croquettes

Epicurious | November 2005

by Crescent Dragonwagon

Passionate Vegetarian

For most of our years as innkeepers, these croquettes, served with shiitake mushroom gravy and accompanied by a small stuffed pumpkin and other fixings, were the entree we offered vegetarians at Dairy Hollow Thanksgivings. Though rather plain as far as savory cakes go, the deep, dark colors and flavors are autumnal and satisfying. Sure, most guests chose turkey, but vegetarians were ecstatic about these. In fact, one of my sources of residual Innkeeper Guilt is the nice thank-you note I got from two such, begging me for the recipe. I am not territorial about recipes and had no problem — or wouldn't have, if I'd ever measured what I did. They actually called the front desk twice to ask again (Guilt! Guilt!) but by the time I had measured, and written, a year had gone by. I sent the recipe, groveling and apologetic. Alas, they had moved, forwarding service expired. If you two are out there reading this, I hope you will accept my apologies.

At the inn I always used to fry these, but I am very pleased with the nonfried version. These are slightly tricky to work with because the batter is soft and messy. Just persevere: They come out delicious. I prefer this with 2 eggs — one in the batter, one as part of the breading mix — but it is possible to make it vegan, too.

Yield: Makes about 20 small croquettes, serves 4 or 5

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Ingredients

CROQUETTE BATTER

• 1 1/4 cups lentils
• 3 3/4 cups water, preferably spring or filtered
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco or similar hot sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

FOR SHAPING AND BAKING

• 1 cup crisp, fine breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup crushed Nutri-Grain or other no-sugar-added corn- or wheat flakes
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (see tip, below)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf sage, crumbled
• Salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 large egg (optional)
• Cooking spray or olive oil spray

Preparation

1. Combine the lentils, water, and bay leaves in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook, half-covered, until tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool, then drain off any excess liquid and set aside.

2. When ready to complete the croquette batter, combine the lentils with all the other batter ingredients in a food processor. Buzz until the garlic is pureed and a soft, somewhat goopy paste is formed. Let the batter rest, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours, or up to 2 days.

3. When ready to bake the croquettes, preheat the oven to 400°F. Set up a breading station: Combine the breadcrumbs and cornflake crumbs in a bowl. In a second bowl, make a seasoned flour by combining the flour, nutritional yeast, paprika, sage, salt and black pepper, thyme, and olive oil and tossing together well. In a third bowl, beat the egg, if using, with a tablespoon of water. Place the bowl of croquette mixture next to all this, along with a nonstick baking sheet or one that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

4. Using 2 large spoons, form a slightly flattened fat oval 3 to 4 inches long and 1/2 inch thick. Drop it into the seasoned flour. Sprinkle the top of the oval of batter with more flour and lift it out of the flour with your fingers. Dip the batter oval into the egg, which will coat it, though it will resist in spots. Drop the egg-coated ball into the crumbs, and, with your fingers, roll it around. When coated with this second jacket of crumbs, place on the baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

5. Spray the crumbed croquettes very lightly with olive oil (if you have some in a spray bottle) or cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, turn very gently using a thin-bladed spatula, and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes. The crumb coating should be crisping up nicely; if it's not, run the croquettes under the broiler for a few moments.

6. Serve hot, as soon as possible, with a sauce such as Mushroom-Miso-Mustard Gravy . Leftovers can be served in buns, with all the fixings.

Crescent Dragonwagon shares her tips with Epicurious:
Nutritional yeast is a savory molasses-fed yeast that's rich in B-complex vitamins and protein. It is widely available in bulk at natural food stores.

Source Information

Reprinted with permission from Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon ©2002 Workman Publishing Company, Inc.