RISOTTO DAHL BALLS WITH AVOCADO SALSA

Usually a salsa is a sideline but not in this case, its so zingy and fresh and holds its own as a major part of any dish.  I make it less often than the tomato salsa, which seems to make an appearance in many of my dishes but this salsa is seriously worth the extra effort.

The risotto balls came to being from some leftovers from the dahl recipe.   I wanted to use the leftovers in an imaginative way – they are great cold too!

INGREDIENTS

RISOTTO BALLS

1 onion
salt
glug of rapeseed oil
2 cloves garlic
1 red chilli
1tsp each of cumin, ginger, turmeric, garam masala & dried parsley
600ml water
250g yellow lentils
10 cherry tomatoes
100g risotto rice
panko breadcrumbs

SALSA

4 spring onions
handful of parsley and coriander
1 lime
salt
½ large cucumber
15 vine cherry tomatoes
1 large avocado

1. To make the dahl, fry the onion with the salt and a good glug of oil for 5 minutes
2. Then add the garlic, chilli and spices and mix
3. Add the water and lentils and give it a good stir
4. Cover and cook until the lentils are soft – at least 40 minutes and keep checking and adding more water if necessary
5. When it is almost done, add in the quartered cherry tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes
6. Meanwhile cook the risotto rice.
7. Add approximately ¼ of the dahl mix to the rice to make 10 balls. If you want more, increase the rice volume.
8. Leave to chill if possible in the fridge for 30 minutes then form into balls and cover with breadcrumbs
9. Spray with rapeseed oil and cook at 200 for 20 – 30 minutes until golden
10. To make the salsa, chop the spring onions and herbs and mix with the lime juice and salt
11. Peel and de-seed the cucumber and slice into small pieces
12. Add to the bowl with the chopped tomatoes and mix with the herbs.
13. Stir well and finally add the avocado