Crispy Pumpkin and Quite Tasty Quinoa Croquettes
Prep time: 50 mins | Cook time: 10 mins | Makes: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tsp of ground cumin
- 45g (1/4 cup) of currants
- 100g (1/2 cup) of tri coloured quinoa, rinsed
- 250ml (1 cup) of water
- 2 (470g) potatoes, peeled, chopped
- 250g of butternut pumpkin, peeled, chopped
- 75g (1/2 cup) of plain flour, plus 2 tbs extra
- 50g (1 cup) of panko breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked
- 75g of low-fat feta, crumbled
- 1/2 cup of fresh coriander, chopped, plus extra, to serve
- Grape seed oil, to shallow fry
- Tomato relish, to serve
- Lemon wedges, to serve
- Salad leaves, to serve
The holiday season might have come and gone but with the return of January comes the return of balmy Summer nights spent gathered outdoors around a bbq.
While you're waiting for your beef patties, ribs and cabana to cook, why not pass around some irresistible croquettes? Made especially for the vegetarians, these croquettes will even delight the youngsters who definitely won't mind how healthy they are because they taste so good.
Coated in delicious breadcrumbs, these bite-sized quinoa cylinders are that much of a fan favourite that they'll have everyone asking you to make them at the next get together (and that's a guarantee)!
Method
Heat the oil in a saucepan over low heat before adding the onion, garlic and cumin. Cook this, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until the onion is soft. Stir in the currants for 1 minute. Then, stir in the quinoa and add the water before bringing the mixture to a simmer. Let this simmer, stirring occasionally, for 14 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Set it to the side to cool.
Boil the potato and pumpkin together in a saucepan of boiling salted water for roughly 15-17 minutes until both vegetables are tender. Once boiled, drain them well and return them to the pan. Turn on the low heat and cook them, shaking the pan, for 1 minute until all of the excess water evaporates. Mash the vegetables in the saucepan and transfer them to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes.
Place the flour and breadcrumbs onto seperate plates and crack an egg into a seperate shallow bowl.
Combine the quinoa mixture, pumpkin mixture, feta, coriander and extra flour in a bowl and season it to your tastes. Shape the mixture into twelve 10-12cm croquettes. Dip each croquette into the flour, egg and then breadcrumbs before placing them on a lined oven tray.
Add enough oil to a frying pan so that it's roughly 2cm deep. Heat this over medium to low heat, cooking the croquettes in 3 batches, for 4 minutes each, turning them continuously until they're nice and crisp. Drain the cooked croquettes on some paper towel and serve them with relish, lemon wedges and a side salad.
