Name: German-Style Sesame Red Lentil Frikadellen
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 5 servings
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 300 g broken red lentils, cooked and drained; 3 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds; 1 onion, finely diced; 60 g breadcrumbs or fine semolina; 1 egg; 5 tablespoons cold-pressed sesame oil, for frying; 1 tablespoon mustard; to taste salt and black pepper

Before you cook

Resting the shaped patties in the fridge before frying is what stops them falling apart in the pan. Skipping that rest is the most common reason these break up.

Fry in a properly hot pan with enough oil to shallow-fry, not a dry non-stick surface. A dry pan gives pale, steamed patties rather than a proper crust.

Method

Mash the cooked, drained lentils roughly with a fork in a bowl.
Warm a little oil and cook the onion until soft and lightly golden.
Combine the lentils, cooked onion, sesame seeds and breadcrumbs.
Add the egg and mustard, mixing until the mass holds together.
Season generously with salt and pepper, tasting the raw mixture.
Shape into patties about two centimetres thick with damp hands.
Chill the shaped patties for at least twenty minutes before frying.
Warm the remaining oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat.
Fry the patties for four minutes per side until deeply golden.
Drain briefly on paper and serve warm with mustard on the side.

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