Starters & Light meals

Blue cheese, bulgur, quinoa and herb croquettes

6
Easy
30 minutes
20 minutes

These croquettes pair beautifully with pickled pears and bean and pecan nut salsa. They're the creation of chef Luke Dale-Roberts.

Wine/Spirit Pairing
Lammershoek Roulette Blanc 2010

Thanks for your rating!

You must be logged in to rate a recipe. Login

Ingredients

Method
  • 250 g bulgur wheat, prepared according to package instructions
  • 1 free-range egg
  • 30 g Parmesan, finely grated
  • 30 g cooked red quinoa
  • 30 g cooked white quinoa
  • 10 g parsley, chopped
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 thumb-tip-sized balls of blue cheese
  • Sunflower oil, for deep-frying
  • Wild rocket, for serving
  • For the pickled pears:

  • ½ cup white wine vinegar
  • 1 cup hanepoot
  • ½ cup water
  • 80 g sugar
  • 2 g saffron (optional)
  • 6 pears, peeled
  • For the bean and pecan nut salsa, mix:

  • 80 g cooked black-eyed beans
  • 40 g blanched raisins
  • 60 g pecan nuts, diced
  • 5 T olive oil
  • Juice of ¼ lemon
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • For the Parmesan dressing:

  • 2 T white wine vinegar
  • ½ t fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 free-range egg yolk
  • 1 T Dijon mustard
  • 40 g Parmesan
  • 1¼ cups olive oil
  • Sea salt, to taste

Method

Ingredients

Add the egg and Parmesan to the soaked bulgur wheat and beat vigorously using a wooden spoon. Add both the quinoas and the parsley and continue beating. Season to taste.

Scoop ½ cup of the mixture onto a sheet of cling film. Top with another sheet of cling film and roll the dough to form a disc of approximately 10 cm in diameter.

Remove the top layer of cling film, place a blue cheese ball in the centre of the disc and gather up the sides. Squeeze it together to form a neat parcel. Repeat with the remaining quinoa mixture and blue cheese.

Deep-fry the croquettes in 180°C oil until golden, then drain on kitchen paper.

Break open a couple of the croquettes, allowing the cheesy centres to ooze out; leave the rest whole. Arrange on a plate alongside slices of pickled pear and a few leaves of wild rocket.

Drizzle with the salsa and dressing and serve immediately.

To make the pickled pears, place the vinegar, hanepoot, water, sugar and saffron, if using, in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Add the pears, reduce the heat and poach for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they can be easily pricked with a knife. Allow to cool, then slice and remove the cores.

To make the Parmesan dressing, place the vinegar, rosemary, egg yolk, mustard and Parmesan in a jug blender and blend on a high speed.

With the blender running, slowly add the oil in a steady stream to create a creamy dressing. Season to taste with salt.

Luke Dale-Roberts

Recipe by: Luke Dale-Roberts

Considered a foodie visionary by most, Luke Dale-Roberts is the mastermind behind SA's number one restaurant, The Test Kitchen, as well as The Pot Luck Club.

View all recipes

Comments

Load more