Week 48 - tofu and parmesan croquettes, homemade pesto and a charred peach salad

Crispy non-potato croquettes with homemade pesto and a grilled peach salad.

BASIC INGREDIENTS (4 PEOPLE)

300g silken tofu (or 300g cream cheese if you can't get silken tofu)

200g veggie parmesan/parmigiano, grated

1-2 balls of mozzarella/burrata

50g pine nuts (or walnuts)

150g pumpkin seeds, blitzed to crumbs

100g hazelnuts

100g plain flour

1 lemon

1 red onion

4 ripe peaches/nectarines

1 punnet cherry tomatoes

Bag of mild leaves, like lambs lettuce

Herbs & spices: 2 cloves of garlic (fresh is best here), 3tsp dried mixed herbs, small bunch basil, nice quality olive oil

LUXURY INGREDIENTS (OPTIONAL)

Garlic granules

Cayenne pepper

A little fresh mint

4 peppercorns

Handfuls parsley

Selection of meals from the cooking class

PREP

Oven on · crush two cloves of garlic · slice small red onion into a salad bowl and cover with juice of 1 lime · punnet of tomatoes in oven dish with glug of olive oil and pop into oven.

Infused oil

Traditional pesto using raw garlic but that is very pungent so in this recipe we gently cook the garlic.

In a small saucepan on the lowest heat put in 4 glugs of olive oil, 4 peppercorns, 1 clove of crushed garlic and a strip of lemon zest. Gently heat until fragrant - take off the heat if it starts to brown.

Croquettes

Into bowl, mix:

• 300g silken tofu

• 150g veggie parmesan/parmigiano, grated

• 150g pumpkin seeds, blitzed to crumbs

• 100g plain flour

• Cayenne pepper to taste

• 2tsp of mixed herbs

• 1tsp garlic granules

• 1 crushed garlic clove

• Fresh pepper

Mix until combined into a big ball and let rest. We've used 150g of seeds to add nutrients and flavour but if you don't have/don't like, you can sub in flour instead bringing a total of 250g of flour.

NO SALT as the parmesan is salty.

Pesto

Into a blender put the small bunch of basil, optional handful of parsley, 50g of pine nuts/walnuts plus the infused oil (take out the lemon rind). Blend to preference, you may need to add more olive oil or a squeeze of lemon juice to loosen it.

Taste test now... add in the remaining parmesan, then taste, add salt, pepper, lemon juice, more oil to balance. Set aside.

Oil a large baking tray.

Make the croquettes, two choices:

1. Split the 'dough' into quarters and roll each one into a sausage the thickness around 2cm in diameter. Cut in small cylinders.

2. Take a tablespoon of the mixture, roll into a ball, then gently flatten into rounds.

Pop onto your oiled baking tray and into the oven. Check your cherry tomatoes. If soft and a little charred, take them out.

Check your croquettes after 5 minutes. You're looking for crispy brown on one side. Then turn over for a 3-5 minutes more. Don't overcook or they'll be hard. They should be light and creamy in the middle.

Peach salad

Heat a griddle or frying pan/wok with a dribble of olive oil to medium-high. Fry your slice peaches until nice and brown on one side. Leave in the pan, off the heat to relax and release juice.

Assemble your salad by layering on top of your limed-red-onions:

• Leaves

• Burrata/mozzarella

• Hazelnuts (toast them in a dry pan if you can be bothered)

• Peaches

• Few mint leaves

Pour in the juice from the pan just before serving.

To serve, top the croquettes with the roasted tomatoes and a dollop of pesto.

Alternatively, next time, you could put the croquettes into a nice tomato sauce and top with cheese, pop under the grill. Yum.

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