Cook A Life! by Maeva... in English: Oven baked pumpkin croquettes (vegan version included)

Happy New Year 2016!

Since I have started the English version of the blog, I haven't had lots of time to bring in my recipes and translate them here so this first recipe of the new year was a good way to start fresh plus it was a very good discovery. I've been wanting to cook croquettes for a long time but I don't really like fried food (to cook and to eat) so the oven baked version seemed a good alternative, I just had to try it.

I've been taking part to French food challenges for the past year and a half and I made this recipe for the "Bataille Food" that takes place each first Wednesday of the month at 6 P.M. (Paris time) of which this month theme was to present "mignardises" (sweet or savory petits-fours) and include an orange ingredient and spices. So I chose to use pumpkin in mini oven baked croquettes and they turned out to be really good, vegan, gluten free and healthy most of all! The other good thing is that you're free for doing something else while they're baking.

I added some soft goat cheese to the pumpkin purée but you can let this out if you don't like it or want a vegan version. The yogurt sauce if also optional, if you're vegan you can replace it by something else, it just adds some freshness to the croquettes. Hope you'll like them!

--> French version: here

Pumpkin croquettes { oven baked }

Prep time : 20 min
Cook time : 20 min (once pumpkin cooked)

Coriander/cilantro yogurt sauce

- 150 g plain yogurt

- organic lemon juice

- 1 tsp. organic olive oil

- a few leaves of fresh coriander/cilantro chopped

- salt & pepper

In a little mixing bowl, mix the yogurt with the lemon juice, the olive oil, the coriander/cilantro finely chopped, some salt and some pepper. Taste and correct the seasoning if needed, cover and set aside in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin croquettes

Serving : about 14 little croquettes

- 3/4 cup (6,35 oz) of pumpkin puree (home made or canned)
- 1/8 cup + 1 tsp (0,80 oz) cup chickpea flour
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 little shallot, chopped
- a few leaves of fresh coriander/cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 or 2 pinches of cumin
- 1 or 2 pinches of paprika
- 1 pinch of Espelette chili (or sweet pepper)
- some soft goat cheese (optional if you're vegan or don't like it)
- salt and pepper
- dried bread crumbs

Once your pumpkin is steamed if home made cooked, use 3/4 cup (or 6,35 oz) of its flesh and smash it with a fork to have a puree. Add the chickpea flour, the olive oil, the garlic, the shallot, the coriander/cilantro as well as the spices and the soft goat cheese (optional) and mix well.

In a soup dish, pour some of the dried bread crumbs, spoon some of the mash (as big or little as you want, depending if you want to serve them as appetizers or starters), roll it between the palm of your hands to make a ball then roll it generously in the dried bread crumbs and put it on a oven tray covered with baking parchment and repeat for all the pumpkin mash.

Put in a warm oven and bake for 15 to 20 min at 350°F/180°C. Compared to a fried version, your croquettes won't get brown but just light golden and you may think they're not baked enough but they're ready when the outside is crunchy.

Take the yogurt sauce out of the fridge and enjoy your croquettes warm as appetizers, starters or side dish.