Everyone loves meatballs; especially my children when they were young. So for this blog, I present my vegetarian version: non-meat balls.
Traditionally, meatballs are served with tomato sauce, for which I give a recipe. But I also discovered by chance that they form a delicious combination with left-over Roasted Pumpkin Soup as a sauce. With tomato sauce I would serve Hasselback Potatoes, roast parsnips and a steamed green vegetable. With the ‘Pumpkin’ sauce I would serve plain boiled rice.
Ingredients for the Non-meat Balls:
Serves 2
50g split peas
90g puy lentils (use brown lentils if you cannot find these)
100g tofu
1 mushroom stock cube
100g cooked white beans (I recommend tinned/bottled)
100g ricotta
50ml olive oil
1 medium onion
1/2 green pepper
2 celery stalks
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or dried)
1/2 tsp chopped fresh sage (or dried)
30g parsley
1 egg, beaten
Serves 2
50g split peas
90g puy lentils (use brown lentils if you cannot find these)
100g tofu
1 mushroom stock cube
100g cooked white beans (I recommend tinned/bottled)
100g ricotta
50ml olive oil
1 medium onion
1/2 green pepper
2 celery stalks
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or dried)
1/2 tsp chopped fresh sage (or dried)
30g parsley
1 egg, beaten
Method:
- Bring 300ml water to the boil. add the peas and lentils, and simmer covered for 30 to 40 minutes until the lentils are tender (if necessary add more water), but still retain a little bite.
- Chop the tofu, wrap in a clean tea towel or strong kitchen paper, and wring and squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Then mash roughly with a fork together with the mushroom stock cube.
- Chop the vegetables, and fry in the oil until soft and golden (about 10 minutes).
- Wash, drain and mash the beans roughly.
In a large bowl, combine the lentil and vegetable mixtures, and add the beans, tofu, ricotta, egg and herbs. - Form into golf balls and place in a shallow roasting tray. Add 50 ml water, and cover loosely with aluminium foil.
- Bake at 180C for 30 minutes.
Non-meat Balls go well with: