Recipe: Deep Fried Lentil ‘Nugget’ Balls {Vegetarian & Freezer Friendly}

Summary: Unless you are into faux meats, there’s not a huge range of vegetarian convenience foods. Which sucks. Some days I come home late and just want to get something on the table. These are definitely balls, as opposed to nuggets but they take up the role of a chicken nugget. You know, a lazy snack when served with a dipping sauce or a when served with a pile of veg, they become dinner. They would be awesome in place of falafel or as meatballs in a sub or on a mezze plate with dips. These are great because they are easy to make but the best bit is you can cook them straight away or freeze them. Yes, they go straight from freezer to deep fryer – perfect for a quick weeknight meal. They are tasty, crispy little bites that just add a little depth to an all veg dinner. I am going to make a quadruple batch on the weekend for freezing, maybe you should think about a batch or two…

Ingredients

• 2 (400g) tins brown lentils, drained & rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tblsp chicken style stock powder (I use Massel brand)
• 1 tblsp sirachia
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs plus 1 cup for crumbing

Instructions

1. Add everything except the extra breadcrumbs to the bowl of a food processor and process for about 2 mins. Or until the mixture becomes a smooth, fluffy paste.
2. Place the extra breadcrumbs in a bowl. Use a cookie scoop to drop one tablespoon of the lentil mix into the crumbs and roll to coat. The lentil mix will be quite soft but will hold together. You can refrigerate the lentil mix to firm it up, if needed.
3. If want to freeze the nuggets for later, lay them on a baking tray and freeze. Once fully frozen the nugget balls can be placed in a snap lock bag or air tight container in the freezer.
4. To cook from fresh or frozen. Heat a deep fryer to 180C. Fry the nugget balls for around 4 minutes or until the nugget balls float and look golden brown. Drain on paper towel.
5. Makes approz. 35 nugget balls.

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