Tag Archives: Meatballs

Vegan meatballs, amazing texture.

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These vegan meatballs are the perfect base for all your favorite dishes. This recipe is without sauce or gravy  because they are meant to be as a base for other recipes, like Spaghetti and meatballs,  Swedish meatballs,  meatball Curry with rice or a great meatball sandwich for instance.

A vegan meatball that has the texture of actual meat. Holds together, not mushy like most, but firm and with bite. I made these one night with mashed potatoes in Swedish meatballs style and the next night I poured a sticky honey chili maple glaze over them and served them over rice.  They freeze well too, you could easily make a double batch and always have a supply for a quick dinner fix.
So whether you’ re a vegetarian, a vegan or simply trying to eat more veggies,  these are a  great option and you really need to try them.

Makes around 24 meatballs.
Serves 4-6. Double if needed.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup tvp* see not (I use pea tvp)
1/4 cup  chopped dehydrated vegetables (mix for soup)**see note
1/2 onion chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 vegetable stock cube, crumbled fine
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup quick oats
2 tbsp pine nuts (optional but delicious)
A dash of liquid smoke
A dash of franks hot sauce
1/2 tsp vegan Worchestershire sauce
Pepper
2 tbsps ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons water, or 2 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook lentils and tvp in a bit of salted water for around 5 minutes, or until almost soft, but still semi firm. Drain in a colander and return to the pan, add the dehydrated veggies, they will absorb the excess water.  Set aside and let cool.
Cook onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes until soft. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl mix, lentil-tvp-veg mixture with onion and garlic.
Add all the remaining ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes,  now grab a ball of the mixture with your hand and gently squeeze to see if it holds.  Add a splash of water if it seems too dry or add a bit more flour if it seems too wet.
Shape into balls, the size of a ping pong ball approximately.
Place in refrigerator for two hours before baking to firm up.
Pre heat oven to 220C/450F.
Place balls on a silicone baking sheet and spray with oil (or drizzle over).
Bake 15 minutes turning halfway.
Use straight away with your favorite sauce or let cool and store in ziplock bag in the refrigerator or freezer for later use.

Enjoy!

  • tvp stands for texturized vegetable protein
    ** Amazon sells a Deluxe Vegetables Soup Blend.
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Thai Peanut Curry with Chicken Meatballs and Zucchini

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Curries are always a great hit in our home, whether it’s just us or whether we have guests joining us for dinner. It’s so easy to prepare, everyone loves a Curry and it can be made in advance. This particular Curry is one I make very often because we love Thai Curries and also because it has Peanut butter in it. We love all things Peanut sauce, have you tried our Sate sauce?

TIP: I usually double the sauce and freeze half for later in small containers, it works so well for a quick dinner.

Prep time : 20 min
Cooking time : 20 min
Serves : 4



INGREDIENTS:


Meatballs
• 1 lb./450 gr. Ground chicken
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp. Thai red curry paste
• Ground pepper
• Grated lime zest, just a little bit

Curry sauce
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 medium shallots, minced
• 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated or minced
• 3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
• 1 zucchini in bite-size pieces
• 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 can coconut milk, 13.5 oz./400 ml.
• 1 tbsp. Palm sugar or brown sugar
• About ½-1 cup water
• 1 tbsp. Fish sauce (adjust to taste)
• Juice of ½ – 1 lime (adjust to taste)
• fresh cilantro, rice and chopped nuts for serving

More Thai ideas: 


INSTRUCTIONS:


1. In a large bowl, add the chicken mince and add the garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, Thai red curry paste, ground pepper and lime zest. Mix to combine and shape into meatballs about the size of a golf ball, set aside.
2. In a large pot, bring the oil to medium heat. Add the shallots, and cook for 3 minutes, or until translucent. Next add the ginger and garlic. Stir and continue to cook for about 5 more minutes.
3. Now add the curry paste, stir for a minute and add the peanut butter, fish sauce, sugar and coconut milk and water, bring to a simmer. Carefully add the meatballs.
4. Bring to a simmer again and cover partially with a lid, cook for about 15 minutes then add the Zucchini, cover and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes or until Zucchini is bite tender. Check throughout cooking if you need to add more water.
5. Add the lime juice and check the seasoning, add more fish sauce if you want it saltier. I always check that the meatballs are fully cooked by cutting one in half.
6. Serve warm over cooked rice, with more cilantro, lime wedges and some chopped nuts.

Enjoy!

Köfte with Tahini Yogurt sauce

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Köfte

Köfte are Middle Eastern sausage-shaped meatballs, often grilled on a stick. They can be made from either ground lamb, beef, or a combination.They’re perfect for the barbecue, or can be fried in the pan or even baked in the oven. This recipe is simple and delicious and all it needs is a salad and good flatbread.

You can watch a quick video here

INGREDIENTS:

Köfte:

500 gr minced Beef
1 small onion, grated about 1/4 cup
1 clove garlic,  grated
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp dried parsley or 1 tbsp fresh
1/2 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp all spice
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 egg

Tahini Yoghurt sauce:

1 cup (greek style)Yoghurt
Squeeze of lemonbjui
1 tbsp. Tahini
1/2 tsp dried garlic and 1 tsp dried onion powder
Salt & pepper

Flatbread to serve.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all ingredients for the Köfte in a bowl and mix until evenly combined. Shape the meat mixture into sausage shaped meatballs, wetting your hands as necessary to prevent sticking. At this point you can also form the meat around skewers about 4 1/2 inches long. To secure the meat on the skewer, open and close your fingers along it, moving up and down the skewer and flattening the meat. Refrigerate the skewers until you are ready to grill.
Otherwise heat a frying pan to medium hot and  cook the Köfte for about 5 minutes until cooked thru.  Mix the ingredients for the Tahini sauce. Serve over flatbread with a salad, yogurt, and plenty of sauce. Enjoy!

Grilled Cheese Meatballs in Onion Sauce

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Meatballs loaded with onion sauce and finished off under the grill to melt all that cheese to golden perfection. These are the kind of dishes that make me wish winter would last forever.

You can serve these with mashed potatoes, over pasta or even in a bun.

The meatballs in this recipe are medium large intended for dinner, but you could make them a lot smaller and then serve them as an appetizer for a party with little wooden skewers in them.

Serves: 4 – 6

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed or grated
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 – 3 tbsp. panko bread crumbs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • ———————————-
  • 4 medium onions, peeled and sliced
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tbsp. flour
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 cup grated cheese*

*Cheddar , Gouda, Asiago, Fontina, Gruyère, Havarti, Monterey Jack are all great cheeses for melting and grilling, use any one or make a mix.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre heat the oven to 220° C / 425° F
For the meatballs, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands. Don’t overmix. Form 8 meatballs.
Put them in a oiled oven dish and place in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes. I use a cast iron skillet but a baking dish is fine too.
Meanwhile heat a large frying pan and glaze the onions on medium low heat in the two tablespoons of olive oil, add a pinch of salt. Partially cover and let cook for about 20 minutes. Stirring now and again. After the 20 minutes add one tablespoon of sugar and stir around until in begins to caramelize and gets a deep golden color.
Add the two tablespoons of flour and again stir until this too gets a golden color.
Gently add the beef stock and stir to completely combine. Add the cumin and let simmer for 10 minutes.
When the meatballs are cooked take them out of the oven and carefully pour over all the onion sauce.
Set the oven to grilling.
Cover the meatballs and onions with the grated cheese and place back in to oven. Grill for about 5 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Enjoy!

Myra XO