Favorite Recipes: Red Lentil-Rice Cakes with Simple Tomato Salsa

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Red Lentil-Rice Cakes with Simple Tomato Salsa

This recipe was HARD!! It took me a couple attempts to make this recipe. And even with the final attempt, it didn't turn out the best. Oh well, at least I attempted to make something a little more harder. The taste was pretty good, despite the mess I made with it. I ended up only making half of the cakes because I was tired of burning myself and tired of the cakes falling apart. Only about 4 of the cakes actually held their shape, otherwise I have a mess of crumbles, which I will still eat. It took me 2 attempts to make the lentils-I followed the directions for the recipe and the lentils turned into mush. When I made them tonight, I only cooked it for about half the time and they turned out much better. The salsa really makes the cakes taste amazing!

Red Lentil-Rice Cakes with Simple Tomato Salsa (Cooking Light) (6 servings):

*Salsa

3 c finely chopped plum tomatoes (about 6)
1/4 c chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp capers (I added 3 tsp)
1/4 tsp salt

*Cakes

4 c water, divided
1 c dried small red lentils
1/2 c uncooked basmati rice
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 c finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 c finely chopped red onion
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c dry breadcrumbs
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

To prepare salsa, combine all ingredients; set aside at room temp.

To prepare cakes, bring 3 c water and lentils to boil in med saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 min or until tender. (This is the time I used and I made sure to watch the lentils carefully during the last couple of minutes to make sure they weren't over-done.) Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Place lentils in large bowl.

Combine remaining 1 c water and rice in pan; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 18 min or until liquid is absorbed. Cool 10 min. Add rice to lentils.

Heat 1 tsp oil in large skillet over med-high. add bell peppers, onion, fennel seeds and garlic to pan; saute 2 min or until tender. Cool 10 min. Add to lentil mixture. Add mozzarella and remaining ingredients, stirring until well combined. Let stand 10 min.

Wipe skillet clean with paper towels. Heat 2 tsp oil in skillet over med heat. Spoon half of rice mixture by 1/3 cupfuls into pan, spreading to form 6 (3-in) circles; cook 5 min or until lightly browned. Carefully turn cakes over; cook 5 min on other side. Remove cakes from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tbsp oil and remaining rice mixture. Serve with salsa.

Note: I probably should have added more egg to my mixture because my cakes would not hold together to cook. I also started forming them into flat patties with my hands toward the end and carefully placing them in the skillet. Make sure to cook the patties for the full 4-5 min or they will fall apart when you try to flip them over.

Salsa...