Pesto Croquettes

Who doesn't love a hot croquette? Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, just delicious. Traditional potato croquettes are deep-fried, stuffed with breadcrumbs and in my opinion, somewhat bland by themselves.

I give you the pesto croquette! Is there anything that pesto does not make taste better? I think not.I used my go-to vegan cashew pesto recipe for these, but you can use whatever pesto recipe you like, or heck, buy the pesto (just be careful to source a pesto made with olive oil, not canola).

These croquettes are baked not fried, so they're slightly less crispy than the traditional version, but a lot more flavorsome.

Makes: 12 croquettes

Time: 30 mins prep + 30 mins bake

INGREDIENTS:

Pesto

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves

• a handful of baby spinach leaves

• 1/4 cup fresh coriander (optional)

• 1/2 cup cashew nuts

• juice and 1 lemon

• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (available at health food stores, gives it the cheesy texture, can substitute 1/4 cup parmesan cheese)

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 tsp salt

Croquettes

• 2 cups diced and peeled white potato

• 3 Tbsp cashew pesto

• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (or 1/4 cup parmesan cheese if tolerate dairy)

• 1/4 tsp salt

• drizzle of olive oil

This recipe is a quick the whip up and perfect for mid-week lunches!  

 DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Peel and dice your potatoes and place in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 10-12 minutes or until soft.

3.  While the potato is cooking, into a food processor, add basil, spinach, cashews, lemon, nutritional yeast, garlic and salt then process. As the mixture is combining, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. You may need to stop the food processor to scrap the pesto down the sides back towards the blades to ensure your cashews are well blended. Continue until your desired consistency is reached (I like mine chunky!).

4. Mash the cooked potatoes, then add the pesto, nutritional yeast (or parmesan) and salt.

5. Mould into equally sized balls and place on the pre-prepared baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil (for a golden brown colour).

6. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes (depending on your oven) or until nicely browned.

Let me know if you give these a try!

Serve alongside a salad or protein of choice. Croquettes keep well in the fridge and can be heated the next day, but they will be softer than when they're fresh out of the oven.