This recipe was on the pad that I found at the back of the cupboard during spring cleaning, it is actually from the year before we went on a mostly plant-based diet. I had made the meatballs with ground lamb, so I decided to see if I could make the same dish with plant based “meatballs” and it worked. Below are my Zucchini/chickpea meatballs but I also listed the Lamb and thought that the Falafel would work too, so there are 3 variations on the same dish.
Ingredients
Lamb Meatballs
1lb. ground lamb
1/3 of a cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs, whisked
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons panko
2 tablespoons of fresh minced mint
Salt and Pepper to taste
Zucchini/Chickpea Meatballs
1, 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried.
3 large Zucchini, shredded
½ cup rolled oats
2 shallots, minced
1 red bell pepper, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
5 sprigs of fresh oregano
handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
The zest from one lemon and half the juice.
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
Olive oil
Falafel
1, 15oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained (save the chickpea water)
1, 15oz can of fava beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup of pistachios
6 shallots, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
Handful of fresh Italian Parsley, chopped and stems removed
Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped and stems removed
¼ cup of chickpea flour
tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ to 1 teaspoon of ground chili powder of choice
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon of ground cardamom
Salt and Pepper to taste
Avocado Oil
Soup
4 cups of homemade veggie stock, unsalted
3 cups baby spinach, chopped
2/3 cups of uncooked orzo
5 shallots, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 eggs, whisked or 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast & 2 tablespoons Aquafaba
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Shredded Mizithra Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with oil.
Lamb Meat balls
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl, using your hands, work to combine, form into about 1-inch meat ball and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until firm.
Zucchini/Chickpea Meatballs
In a large bowl, place zucchini, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, toss to coat and spread out on the baking sheet. Place in the oven and roast for about 20 minutes, or when most of the liquid is gone and they are a bit crispy. Remove and transfer to a large bowl.
While zucchini is roasting, in a medium skillet over high heat, drizzle some olive oil and add the shallots and red bell pepper and sauté until soft. Remove from heat, stir in garlic, lemon zest and juice, fresh herbs, and transfer to bowl with zucchini.
In the food processor place chickpeas, rolled oats and yeast and pulse until a ball starts to form and the mixture holds together when pressed between fingers. Transfer mixture to zucchini bowl. Using your hand, combine all ingredients. Then form into about 2-inch balls and place on lined baking sheet, repeat until done. Baking in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until balls are golden brown. Remove from oven.
Falafel
Place in the food processor pistachios and garlic, pulse and drizzle with oil. Once a small ground has been achieved, add chickpeas, fava bean, shallots, half the herbs, cumin, turmeric, chili and cardamom, pulse until well blended but not pureed. Now add the flour, baking powder, starch and pulse until a ball starts to form. Remove mixture to a bowl, form into a large ball, cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours to overnight.
Form into balls, about a 1 to 1 ½ inch in size. Now you can either fry them or bake them. To bake preheat oven to 375 degrees, line a backing sheet with parchment paper, place falafel on baking sheet along with a ramekin filled with water and bake for 20 to 30 minute, until set and golden brown, remove and let cool.
Note: to fry see earlier post with Falafel
Soup
In a stock pot place on medium high heat, drizzle with oil, once shimmering add shallots, celery, pepper and carrots and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add stock and orzo, bring to a boil, reduce and simmer until orzo is cooked through.
Remove a cup of the hot stock. In a small bowl whisk together the egg and lemon juice (or the nutritional yeast, Aquafaba and lemon juice), then slow whisk into the removed stock. Note: keep whisking as adding the egg as not to scramble the eggs. Once combined, slow whisk the mixture back into the main stock pot. Continue to simmer until stock starts to thicken, about 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add spinach.
To plate, add “meatballs” to the bottom of serving bowls, spoon on stock and garnish with cheese, or any vegan topping of choice – serve with some nice toasted bread – Enjoy