Holiday leftovers

This winter holiday offered up many blessings, and one of my favorites is a new recipe which complements the traditional flavors of the season. I've wanted to create a dish using Maine-grown pumpkin seeds since this summer and have been mulling over possible concoctions in my head for a number of weeks. With time off from work and a Winter Solstice desire to hunker down in my kitchen, I finally started playing with the pumpkin seeds. The result? Pumpkin Seed Croquettes.

I baked a batch for Christmas Eve dinner at my house and and another for Christmas day dinner at my in-laws. And today, I reheated a leftover croquette, piled it onto pan toasted Standard Baking Company bread, dressed it with mushroom gravy and slathered on homemade cranberry sauce. It was Christmas dinner on a sandwich. It was delicious.

By using a ton of fresh sage and liberal amounts of celery seed and garlic, the taste becomes reminiscent of stuffing and mashed potatoes. The batter and uncooked croquettes will be a funny shade of green, but, as you can see from these pics, a little basting and time in the oven turn the croquettes a nutty brown hue. Serve them with cranberry sauce and gravy, and you'll please any palate.

Pumpkin Seed Croquettes

3 cups cooked organic small grained brown rice
2 cups salted organic pumpkin seeds
3 Tbsp. organic extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves organic garlic
1 Tbsp. organic soy sauce
1 tsp. organic toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup water
3 cups organic carrots, grated
1 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 tsp. dried organic celery seed
1 tsp. dried organic basil

Baste
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Add pumpkin seeds to food processor and pulse a few times. Then add olive oil, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix until it has a creamy texture. Add pumpkin seed mixture to bowl with brown rice, carrots and seasonings. Mix until well blended. Saute onion until caramelized and add to pumpkin seed mixture.

Oil a baking pan. Take roughly a cup full of the mixture into your hands and form a ball. Then roll it into an oblong croquette. Press the croquettes onto the oiled baking pan. Once the pan is full, whisk the baste ingredients together and brush it over each croquette. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes. Baste the croquettes after 20 minutes. Serve with mushroom gravy and cranberry sauce. Makes 20.


Mushroom Gravy

1 medium organic onion, diced
3 Tbsp. organic extra virgin olive oil
2 cups organic shiitake mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup organic soy sauce
1 cup organic hemp milk
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. fresh organic sage, chopped
1 tsp. organic garlic powder
1 tsp. organic onion powder
1 tsp. organic dried thyme
1 tsp. organic dried basil
1/4 cup organic rye flour

Saute onions until they begin to brown. Then add mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add soy sauce, hemp milk and water. Stir. Add seasonings and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Slowly add flour until the gravy is thick and doesn't easily run off a spoon. Serve warm.

Tangy Cranberry Sauce

6 cups fresh, Maine organic cranberries
2 cups organic Maine maple syrup
1 tsp. Maine sea salt
4 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Combine cranberries, maple syrup and sea salt in a sauce pan and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir the mixture for a minute or so, then reduce the heat to low. Allow it to simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring on occasion. Continue cooking until the cranberries skins have all burst. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. Serve hot or cold.