Linsen-Kartoffel-Puffer mit Cashew-Dip (vegan) (lentil and potato fritters with cashew dip)
Cooked red lentils folded through grated, squeezed potato and fried into fritters with more protein and a firmer bite than a plain potato fritter, served with a smooth cashew dip. The lentils need to be fully cooked down and cooled before mixing, or the fritters stay wet in the centre no matter how long they fry.
Prep30 min
Cook25 min
Servings4
Christoph's lentil and potato fritters, the lentils fully cooked down and cooled before mixing so the fritters don't stay wet in the centre.
Ingredients
Units
Temperature
Servings
Fritters
- 150 g red lentils rounded
- 350 ml water rounded
- 500 g waxy potatoes, peeled, coarsely grated, squeezed dry rounded
- 100 g onion, coarsely grated rounded
- 40 g flour rounded
- 8 g fine salt rounded
- to taste freshly ground black pepper rounded
- 60 g neutral oil, for frying rounded
Cashew dip
- 100 g cashews, soaked in hot water 1 hour, drained rounded
- 100 ml water rounded
- 15 ml lemon juice rounded
- 1 garlic clove (optional) rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Combine the lentils and water in a pan. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fully broken down into a thick paste. Spread on a plate and let cool completely.
- Squeeze the grated potato firmly in a clean tea towel until you can wring out no more liquid.
- Combine the cooled lentils, squeezed potato, onion, flour, salt and pepper in a bowl, mixing to an even mass.
- Blend the cashews, water, lemon juice, garlic if using and a pinch of salt until completely smooth, at least 2 minutes. Set aside for the dip.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Shape the potato mixture into 12 patties, about 2 cm thick, and fry in batches, 4 minutes per side, until deeply golden and firm.
- Drain briefly on kitchen paper. Serve hot with the cashew dip.
Method in the Thermomix
Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. This covers grating the potato and blending the dip; frying is conventional.
- Cook the lentils on the stovetop as in the hand method and let cool.
- Potato and onion into the dry bowl, in chunks. Grate 8 sec / speed 5. Tip out and squeeze dry in a tea towel.
- Rinse the bowl. Drained cashews, water, lemon juice, garlic and salt into the bowl. Blend 1 min / speed 9, until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Continue by hand from step 3 of the hand method.
Notes
- Cook the lentils down fully and let them cool before mixing. Warm or under-cooked lentils add too much moisture, and the centre of the fritter never fries through properly.
- Squeeze the potato as dry as possible. Excess liquid, on top of the lentils, makes for a fritter that spreads and falls apart in the pan.
- Do not crowd the pan. Fritters fried too close together steam rather than crisp.
- They keep for 3 days in the fridge and reheat reasonably in a dry pan; they are best fresh.
Ingredient substitutions
- Red lentils are chosen for how quickly and completely they break down; other lentil varieties will need longer cooking and more mashing.
- Cashews can be sunflower seeds, soaked the same way, for a nut-free dip.
- A pinch of smoked paprika or ground cumin in the fritter mix is a good, easy addition.
From Christoph Mayer