What the Hell Do You Make with Lentil Puree?

Unless it’s mashed potatoes, I’m not into a side of mush. I once made a butternut squash-pumpkin-ruttabaga puree as a side to a cabbage hash, but that was once. Just once.

And now I possess a large bowlful of lentil puree. At first I wanted to make a lentil salad, but when my lentils tasted bitter, I doused them with soy sauce and threw them in the food processor for a prompt whipping.

I rolled the first batch of the puree, with slightly cooked and soy-flavored cabbage, into spring rolls. The rolls were then topped with a dipping sauce of grated carrots (using a microplane), sesame oil, sesame seeds and more soy sauce.

But the appetizer used only a third of the lentil puree. What to do? I googled“lentil puree” and found an idea fromThe Sneaky Chef.

Lentil Patties with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrot-Soy Sauce

And I just want to put this reminder out there– I mess around in the kitchen. I love telling you what I’ve made and how I do it, but there is no exactness to my cooking. Take it as a guide.

I sauteed a choppedonionwithgarlicinoil, then added incumin, curry powder,fenugreek, black sesame seeds, salt and pepper. Then I dumped in about 1 1/4 cups ofbrown lentils, let them start to soften and absorb some of the flavor, then I added 3 1/2 cups ofwaterand 2bay leaves, set the flame pretty low, and covered it to let it barely simmer for about 45 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.

I think I added too much fenugreek because the lentils tasted quite bitter, so I added insoy sauce, a bit of water and pureed the lentils in batches (remember to remove the bay leaves!).

To make the patties, I mixed in shredded soy-cookedcabbageand formed them into circles about the size of my palm. I decided that the puree was thick and cohesive enough to omit the binding of eggs and flour and instead just pattedpankoonto both sides. I placed the patties on a baking sheet, covered it loosely with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer to firm up (about 20 minutes) and then pan fried them on both sides until browned.

For a side, I tossed halvedbrussels sproutswith oil, salt and pepper and placed them cut side down on a baking pan in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until browned.

I used the same thick sauce for the spring rolls, which was simply gratedcarrot, soy sauce, sesame seeds and sesame oil.

(Photo:jules: stonesoup)

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