A lot of people ask what Liz, a non meat-eater, will have for her Christmas lunch. We have played with a lot of recipes over the years but have pretty much settled down on lentil and chestnut burgers, a concoction so delicious I have to make extra for the non-veggies. The precise balance of the ingredients is up to you but you need:
Cooked green lentils
The same weight of cooked, peeled and mashed chestnuts
Sage leaves (ripped)
Parmesan (grated)
Egg (beaten)
Breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix the stuff in a bowl until it combines. Too dry? Add egg or milk. Too wet? Add breadcrumbs.
Make into individual patties and shallow fry in good oil for about five minutes a side. Add a very light splash of sesame oil to the oil you use for a nutty edge. Can be made in advance and frozen or chilled, then warmed in oven or microwave. Great cold with salad and pickles. Great hot with Christmas veg. Great as an alternative stuffing. In fact great all round.
By the way the spell-checkers suggestion to replace breadcrumbs? Bridegroom.
4 comments:
Thanks for this post Steve, we have some vegetarians coming to stay next week and we were looking for ideas.
You may remember one of the vegetarians - she once threw a condom full of tomato sauce at a particular venture. Happy days.
Ah how the naughty teenagers grow up. Did she hit the venture?
We did red wine and chestnut pate en croute from Rose Elliott's Vegetarian Christmas - a volume that has served us well for 15 years. The cashew layered loaf is good, too. Recipe on request!
Yuck yuk yuck!
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