Lentil, walnut, and mushroom snack bites
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Snack bites
- 300 g cooked brown or green lentils, drained and patted dry rounded
- 300 g brown mushrooms, finely chopped rounded
- 120 g yellow onion, finely chopped rounded
- 2 garlic, finely chopped rounded
- 100 g walnuts, toasted and finely chopped rounded
- 80 g rolled oats, pulse to a coarse flour rounded
- 15 g ground flaxseed rounded
- 45 ml water rounded
- 30 ml olive oil, divided between skillet and brushing rounded
- 15 ml soy sauce or tamari rounded
- 10 ml balsamic vinegar rounded
- 2 g dried thyme rounded
- 2 g smoked paprika rounded
- 3 g fine salt rounded
- 1 g black pepper rounded
Method
Method
- Stir the ground flaxseed and water together and leave for 10 minutes to thicken. Heat the oven to 200°C and line a 30 by 40 cm sheet pan with parchment.
- Heat 15 ml olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms. Cook for 10 to 14 minutes, stirring often, until the mushrooms release their water, the water completely evaporates, and the mixture begins to brown.
- Add the garlic, thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute. Add the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar and cook until the pan is dry again, about 1 to 2 minutes. Spread the mixture on a plate and cool for 5 minutes.
- Put the lentils, mushroom mixture, and 70 g toasted walnuts in a food processor. Pulse briefly until the mixture is cohesive but still visibly textured. Do not puree it smooth.
- Transfer to a bowl. Fold in the remaining 30 g walnuts, coarse oat flour, and flax mixture. Rest for 10 minutes. A squeezed spoonful should hold without releasing moisture.
- Divide into 20 portions of about 40 g and roll with lightly damp hands. Arrange on the prepared pan, flatten each very slightly, and brush with the remaining 15 ml olive oil.
- Bake for 12 minutes, turn carefully, then bake for 10 to 13 minutes more. The bites are ready when browned underneath, dry to the touch, and firm enough to lift whole. Split one: the centre should be moist and textured, not wet or pasty.
- Cool in one layer before storing or packing. The bites firm further as they cool.
Storage and transport
- Refrigerate in a shallow covered container as soon as the heavy steam stops and always within 2 hours of baking. Keep at 4°C or colder and use within 4 days.
- Eat properly chilled bites cold, or reheat once at 190°C until steaming throughout. Serve immediately after reheating.
- Freeze fully cooled bites in one layer, then transfer to an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat once. Their texture is best after oven reheating.
- Pack chilled bites in a sealed container inside an insulated bag with two frozen cold sources, one above and one below. They are moist cooked food and cannot travel safely without cold sources.
- The maximum cumulative time out of refrigeration is 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C. Discard bites that exceed the limit rather than refrigerating them again.
Notes
- Allergens: walnuts and soy. Standard soy sauce may contain wheat. For a gluten-free version, use certified gluten-free oats and tamari and verify every packaged ingredient.
- Cooking the mushroom pan completely dry is the central structural step. If moisture still pools, the centres will stay pasty no matter how long the bites bake.
- Keep part of the walnuts out of the food processor and fold them in later for a less uniform, more satisfying texture.
- If the rested mixture still smears rather than rolls, add 10 g more coarse oat flour. If it crumbles, pulse a small portion again and fold it back through rather than adding water.