These lentil nuggets are easy to make and make a very nutritious finger food for babies feeding themselves. Lentils are an excellent source of protein, calcium, vitamins and iron and this dish is a unique and interesting way to include them in your baby’s menu!
To Make Baby’s Lentil and Sweet Potato Nuggets You Will Need…
4oz (1/2 cup) cooked lentils, thoroughly drained (you can use red if you want them very ‘mooshy’ – we used green for a little more texture!)
2oz (1/4 cup) cooked sweet potato, mashed
2 egg yolks
1 tsp unsalted butter (softened)
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped finely
pinch freshly ground black pepper
flour
whole wheat breadcrumbs
olive oil
Combine the lentils and sweet potato in a bowl and mash together thoroughly (or mash the lentils lightly, then stir into well mashed sweet potato if you’d like more texture).
Stir in one egg yolk, butter, garlic and parsley.
Form into around 8 nugget shapes and chill for 20 minutes.
Beat the second egg yolk. Dip each nugget into flour, then into the egg yolk and finally into the breadcrumbs, making sure they are well coated.
Fry in olive oil until golden brown on all sides, then cool and serve.
Mmm – healthy nuggets that taste delicious! They have a wonderfully soft texture inside and are ideal from 8 to 10 months+.
Note: If you want to freeze these, do so BEFORE cooking them. We actually prefer to freeze them before breading them too!
ARC
Friday 8th of June 2012
Hi, this sounds really yummy! Just wondering if it's ok to freeze them after cooking too?
Christine
Friday 8th of June 2012
The only problem might be that the texture would be a little different, although you could always 'crisp them up' again for a few minutes :)
Heather
Monday 11th of July 2011
Thanks! I'll try that . . .
Heather
Monday 11th of July 2011
Is it possible to make these with white potatoes? We live overseas and can't get seet potatoes (and pumpkins aren't in season right now)?
Christine
Monday 11th of July 2011
They would probably work out fine in terms of texture, but obviously the flavour would be quite different (these are rather sweet). How about combining the white potato with some carrot...?
Christine
Wednesday 6th of July 2011
Forgot to add - try spritzing them with olive oil before baking.
NatG
Wednesday 6th of July 2011
Have you tried baking the nuggets? Baking is a little easier -- doesn't require as much active time. If so, what time/temperature would you recommend?
Christine
Wednesday 6th of July 2011
Actually, we did try baking them (at 375 deg F for about 20 mins) but we found them a little too soft and liable to fall apart. They take just a few minutes in the frying pan (as the lentils and sweet potatoes are already cooked) and they were easier to pick up. You could simply try baking them for longer, but we have a habit of cooking these in the summer months so cooking them in the pan for just a few minutes is preferable :) Please do let us know how they worked out for you!