For the Chestnut Bites:
Ingredients:
Chestnut Bites
- 2 cups Chestnuts, roasted (we use the pre-cooked Chestnuts)
- ¼ cup hazelnuts
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup rice flour
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk
- ½ tbsp. finely chopped Redifarms Fresh Sage
- ½ tsp salt & pepper
Cornmeal Coating
- ¼ cup fine cornmeal
- ¼ cup cornflour
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk
- olive oil for frying
Instructions
- Add your hazelnuts and chestnuts to a food processor and blitz until a fine, crumbly texture. You may have to scrape down the sides once or twice.
- In a large frying pan, add 1 tbsp. olive oil over med-high and fry onions until just turning brown.
- Add the garlic, stir, and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the rice flour and coat the garlic and onion with the flour. Then pour in your non-dairy milk. Stir to combine and let thicken – remove from heat.
- Stir in the finely chopped sage, salt, pepper, and the chestnut & hazelnut meal. Once combined, spread the mixture out on a tray to cool down so you can handle it.
- In the meantime, place the non-dairy milk in one bowl, the cornflour in another, and the cornmeal in another.
- Roll your cooled chestnut mixture into balls and roll in cornflour, then non-dairy milk then into the cornmeal. Repeat for each ball.
- Once they are all coated, heat a few inches of oil in a frying pan for a shallow fry on medium-high heat. To test if it is ready drop a small piece of bread into the oil and it should sizzle and rise.
- In batches, place the balls into the oil and cook for about 3-4 minutes, then roll and continue to fry – you want an even golden brown coating on the outside of the balls*
- Transfer to a kitchen towel to remove excess oil and serve hot or cold with cranberry sauce
Notes
* Some cornmeal will come off of the balls while frying – this is normal. Don’t try and remove it from the oil.
For the Dip:
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight and rinsed
- 1 small-medium beet
- 1 tablespoon light miso
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 -2 tablespoons filtered water (if necessary)
- handful of fresh dill, chopped
- 2 tablespoons drained capers
- Garnish with Redifarms Bull’s Blood Beet
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Tightly wrap the beet in a sheet of foil and place it in the oven. Roast the beet until tender when poked with a knife, about 40 minutes. Allow beet to cool slightly before rubbing skin off and dicing.
- In an upright, high speed blender, combine the diced beet, the rinsed and drained cashews, miso, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Blend on high, pushing contents into the blades with a tamp. If the contents are not working themselves into a whipped cream cheese-like consistency, add some water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Once you have that whipped and smooth consistency, transfer the cashew cheese spread to a sealable container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish the cheese spread with chopped dill and capers.
Serve together and enjoy!