Monday, 3 March 2008

Roasted Pumpkin & Bulgur Croquettes


I watch McDonald's Kitchen semi-frequently, a Dutch vegetarian cooking show. The chef, who has the cutest English accent, was doing a Lebanese themed episode the other day and this was one of the recipes on it.


I have no idea what the dish is called, but "croquettes" sounds fancy enough to me. They are essentially croquettes of roasted pumpkin, bulgur and onion. If you want to go for something a bit more authentic, I suggest Lebanese Pumpkin Things. My personal preference, however, has to be Rockin' Pumpkiny Things.


On the show, these were just deep fried briefly, but I didn't want to do that so I baked them and they came out fine. The roasted pumpkin is sweet and savoury, while the bulgur adds a nice nutty flavour.


Roasted Pumpkin & Bulgur Croquettes (makes about 8):

250 g pumpkin, peeled and cubed
salt and pepper
dash of oil
2 onions, chopped
1/2 cup bulgur, cooked
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 180. Combine the pumpkin with the oil and salt and pepper in a baking dish and roast the pumpkin for about 25 minutes.

In the meantime, sauté some onions in a pan.

Allow the pumpkin to cool a bit, then blend until smooth. Stir in ginger and cinnamon. Mix in the onions and bulgur.

Shape into croquettes with your fingers. Put them on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes.

I suggest serving it with a nice hummus and some pita bread.

12 comments:

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

yum, they look so good... and so creative too.

anna/village vegan said...

Yum. Now, if only pumpkin weren't so damn expensive in Germany. (Seriously, EUR 2,99/kg!! Is it any better in NL/Aus?)

Coppe said...

chocolatecoveredvegan - Thanks, they really are very tasty.

anna - It's not really much better here. I can get it for 2,49/kg in conventional supermarkets. This was an organic pumpkin, though, so I paid even more...

Bonnie said...

I also watch McDonald's kitchen sometimes, I like seeing the kinds of dishes they cook. After all the other cooking shows that are often packed with cheese, meat, cream, fish and the like, it's nice to see a vegetarian cooking show. They often make vegan food, too.

That recipe sounds delicious - I haven't eaten much pumpkin in the past, but I do love it. I've never cooked with bulgur, but I'd like to give it a try.

Adele said...

anna - I'm pretty sure pumpkin is pretty cheap here, definitely compared to Europe. I pay about $2.50 per kilo, which is a pittance in Euros.

I like McDonald's Kitchen. I can't understand the language, but I can tell that he's English! Which somehow makes it better, or something.

Mihl said...

A vegetarian cooking show? I am moving to the Netherlands! Or is it possible to watch the show online?

I recently decided that I need to eat much more pumpkin. Thank you for this recipe! It's a great idea to do something else with pumpkins than making soup:)

Liz² said...

ooh, these sound good! and simple, and incorporate pumpkin and bulgur, and are pretty. must make! (although pumpkin is sadly expensive here, as well ;_;)

Bonnie said...

All (I think?) the episodes are online here!

Mihl said...

Thank you so much Bonnie! (I do even understand a bit :))

Coppe said...

Thanks for the link, bonnie!

Chelsea said...

Those look delicious...great picture!

Coppe said...

Thanks, chelsea!