I’m not much of a vegan food fan unless it’s made by my neighbor, who is an outstanding cook. But I ran across a recipe that drew my interest. I saw the recipe for these, but looked around for some alternatives, and, as I often do, made a mash-up of several recipes.
While these were good—but certainly not nearly as good as the deathly real chicken nuggets—they are actually good for you, too. The negative thing about these is they turned out rather bland. So, if you like bland food, follow the recipe as is (it was experimental), though if making them again, I’d double or triple the amount of dry spices and possibly add some sautéed minced onion and garlic. Of course you can use whatever complimentary spices that appeal to you.
What you’ll need:
- 1 cup lentils (I used red, but I don’t know why any type wouldn’t work)
- 1 carrot grated
- 1 medium zucchini grated, with the extra water drained off
- 0.25 cups panko
- 0.25 cup corn (I used frozen)
- 0.25 cup peas (I used frozen)
- 0.5t salt
- 0.5t ground coriander
- 0.25t garlic powder (omit if adding minced garlic)
- 0.25t ground cumin
What to do:
Pour boiling water over the lentils and let them soak for 30 minutes, then drain and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, then either line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it with nonstick oil.
Put the panko in a food processor to grind it to a finer composition. Put the crumbs in a bowl and set aside. Put the corn and peas in a different bowl and set aside.
Drain the lentils after soaking for about 30 minutes and put them in the food processor with the carrot, zucchini and seasonings. Process the veggies into a pulp, then add to the bowl with the panko, adding the corn and peas last. Mix everything well, ‘cuz next is making the nuggets.
Partition the mixture into 1.5” balls, putting each on the baking pan. Smush each one a bit so they don’t roll around.
Bake for 25 minutes, and if you want them browned on each side, turn them over after about 15 minutes into the 25.
Can be served hot or at room temperature. Whether or not you made them bland, they’re best with a dipping sauce like Sriracha or even mayo or honey mustard.
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