Gluten-Free Croquettes Bento

A Happy "Friday" bento! I try my hand at GF Japanese style croquettes. To off set the fried factor I loaded up on raw veggie sides and pickles.

Top tier of bento:
My first attempt to replicate panko! This is a recipe in progress, but here I used leftover millet that I baked at 250 degrees for 1 hr and 15 minutes (so easy to do while enjoying a couple episodes of 30 Rock!) It fried beautifully and was great while hot, but the hubs reports that the crispy coating hardened some in the fridge overnight. Hmmm....panko, I will create you without wheat!!!

Also going on: Quick Pickled Carrot, romaine with lemon juice and S&P, lemon-tamari dipping sauce and a coffee truffle (Happy "Friday!") Garnish: green onion slices.

Bottom tier of bento:
Turkey-Wrapped Savory Tofu, Cremini Slices in Tamari-Nori, Beet and Radish with Sweet Mustard. Garnish: beet greens, parsley, thyme, cutesy animal picks.

My Bento recipes:

Mini Gluten-free Croquettes

This recipe is best served fresh and hot. If putting in a bento let cool completely, but refrigeration makes the crispy coating harden. I will work on creating a recipe that is better for bentos.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mashed potatoes
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 egg, beaten
2-3 tablespoons GF flour for coating
1/3 cup or so slow baked millet (or other GF bread crumbs)
Oil for frying (I used coconut, shout out to Costco!)

Directions:

* Mix the potatoes with the salt and cheese. 
* Divide into 4-6 formed shapes. 
* Roll these in the flour, dip in the egg, and coat with the crispies/crumbs.
*  Deep fry one at a time in hot oil (you'll know when you drop a crumb in and it quickly floats to the top.) It took less than a minute a piece for them to turn golden. 
* Drain on paper towels and serve while still hot!

Turkey-Wrapped Savory Tofu

Ingredients:

add 1/8 teaspoon and 1 teaspoon chopped parsley to the remaining beaten egg from above
2 slices organic baked tofu
2 slices turkey deli meat
1 tablespoon oil (I re-used a bit of the coconut oil from above)

Directions:

* Fold the turkey in half around the slices of tofu. 
* Dip these in the beaten egg and cook over medium heat  in a pan with the oil until all the egg is cooked and golden (about 1 or 2 minutes per side.) 
* Cut in half and let cool before packing. 

Cremini Slices in Tamari-Nori

Easy: slice a mushroom and cut some strips of nori. Dip the nori strips in a little tamari and then wrap them around the slices.