Vegan Kjøttkaker Norwegian Lentil Cakes With Gravy Food

VEGAN KJøTTKAKER: NORWEGIAN LENTIL CAKES WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Boil 2-3 cups of water then lower the heat and simmer the lentils in it for about 30 minutes or until they are softened. Drain any excess water from them.
• Run the cooked lentils through a food processor with the salt, pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and cornstarch/potato flour, doing a rough chop a few times.
• The result you want is a sticky, kinda pasty consistency but it's okay if there are whole lentils still in there, it's quite good that way. Scrape the mixture into a medium bowl.
• Gradually add soymilk to your seasoned lentil "ground beef". You may not need the entire 3/4 cup.
• The cornstarch or potato flour should've helped bind the mixture, form patties by hand. You'll get about 10-12 small ones.
• Scandanavian cooking often involves frying things in butter. To replicate this, I used Earth Balance. Cut off 1-2 tablespoons Earth Balance and cook the patties in it in a skillet, or use 1-2 tablespoons olive or canola oil to cook the patties for about 6-7 minutes on each side until browned.
• This step, the "milk wash" is the next bit of Norwegian authenticity. Bring the soymilk to a boil in a saucepan then a low simmer. Place the browned patties in the soymilk and let simmer on low for 10-15 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon-- don't get rid of the soymilk if you want to make the gravy though.
• If you want to make the gravy, blend a tablespoon or two of cornstarch with a little cold water. I recommend cornstarch because flour doesn't have good thickening properties, and milk will thicken on heat but soymilk won't without a lot of cornstarch.
• Add the cornstarch-water mix to the soymilk you used to cook the patties. Add the chopped onion, season with salt and pepper, and stir until thickened.
• Regardless of if you make the gravy or not-- serve the lentil kjottkaker with boiled potatoes and peas, and lingonberry sauce (heh I get the jars of it from Ikea.).

RED LENTIL CAKES WITH HARISSA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350*F.
• In a food processor, finely chop garlic, onions and carrots.
• Saute garlic, onions and carrots in 1 tbsp olive oil on medium heat until softened, 4-5 minutes.
• Add lentils and water to pot, cover and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to med-low and cook until lentils have absorbed all the water. They should be soft, but still maintain their shape.
• Remove lentils from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
• In a food processor, chop parsley and almonds.
• In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients with the lentils.
• Carefully shape lentil mixture into patties and place on a greased cookie sheet. Aim for hockey puck sized.
• Bake lentil cakes for 20 minutes and serve with lemon wedge and harissa.