One person who never fails me with food recommendations is my girlfriend, Serena. Except for the time she told me sea urchin was delicious. No.

This was last week, on our way to see Elton John in concert. Courts Mom is in the middle.

Some great things she has introduced me to recently: savory eggs florentine oats, the Quinoa 365 cookbook, gfree Silver Hills bread and frozen lentil fritters.

Yes, please! Since I had the ingredients on hand, and I’m always up for a food challenge, here’s what I came up with.

Baked Lentil Fritters
Makes approximately 16 fritters. Serve as an appetizer, or incorporate into dinner as a side dish.

Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Ingredients/Directions:

1 cup dry red lentils, cooked according to directions
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
2 tbsp chopped green onion
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp minced garlic
tiny pinch of cloves & coriander
pinch of salt & pepper
Note: To simplify the spices, you can use curry powder

Mix all of the above ingredients together. Form into balls, place on the baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

The lentil fritters are good on their own, but taste even better with a dipping sauce. I mixed together 1/4 cup greek yogurt, a splash of jalapeno tabasco, salt, pepper and green onion.

The leftovers keep well, and make for a yummy salad topper.