Lentil "Meatballs"

Hi guys!

It is Monday and I am pretty sure by now you all know what that means. Yes, exactly, there is a new vegetarian recipe coming your way and really love today's pick. I have already featured a Goop recipe in an earlier blog and today, I want to share their recipe for Lentil "Meatballs" with you. The recipe takes a little time, but it is super easy and the result is perfect. Here is the link to the recipe: http://goop.com/recipes/dinner/lentil_meatballs

I will write the steps I took down for you as the original recipe adds oven-roasted tomatoes and a basil oil to accompany the lentil balls. 

1) Cook the lentils according to packet directions. One cup of raw lentils will give you two cups once their cooked. Grate the parmesan.

2) Preheat the oven to 170°C (375°F). Cut one onion into fine pieces, heat some olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Sauté for a minute. Add the garlic (I omitted it) and dried herbs along with a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté for another minute or two until soft and fragrant.

3) Place the lentils along with the tomato paste and a little olive oil in a food processor or blend with a handheld blender until smooth. 

4) Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add the ricotta or greek yoghurt and mix until combined. Add the lentils and mix until smooth. Add the onion-herb-mix for the pan, the parmesan and bread crumbs and season generously with salt and pepper. Mush together until combined. 

5) Roll the mixture into balls. Place the balls on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes, then turn and bake them for 5 more minutes. 

Yield: about 32 meatballs 
Active preparation time: 30 minutes
Total preparation time: about 1 hour and 15 minutes (30 minutes cooking time for lentils included)

Here's how my "meatballs" look like:

As I said a little earlier on, I didn't add the oven-roasted tomatoes or basil oil, but I opted to but my meatballs and serve them over a big bowl of salad. The lentils will give you a healthy load of protein and carbs to get you through until your next meal - without the fat ground beef from "normal" beef patties would add. 

Here's how my lunch today looks like:

The "meatballs" have a really nice flavour from the roasted dried herbs and a slight hint of tomato sweetness from the tomato purée which also gives them their reddish color. I used regular green lentils, nothing fancy like puy lentils or beluga lentils. These are such a great vegetarian alternative to the classic beef pattie and I am going to make them again some time very soon. The leftover I've got might be perfect to put in a sandwich in slices and take for lunch with me. 

Have a great start of the week and, of course, have fun trying!