I seem to have a quest to make both an edible meatloaf and meatballs that are not made from a mix nor contain meat or beans. And taste great. And have a good texture – no soggy allowed. The loaf I am still working on but I finally came up with a winner for meatballs! They come together quickly and bake while you make the rest of dinner. I liked them so much I made them twice this week, in two different recipes. The first I made spaghetti with a tomato and veggie sauce. I made the balls up and added them to the sauce and served –
You can use any nut meal/flour you have on hand. I had a bag of Hazelnut Meal/Flour in my refrigerator so I tried it. I am thinking at some point I will try it with home ground pecan meal. Making meal is easy enough if you don’t have any, grind down cold raw nuts in a food processor. Just watch you don’t over do it and get nut butter! If you buy it commercially, buy it refrigerated and keep it cold for best results.
Nut “Meatballs”
Ingredients:
- 1 cup finely ground bread crumbs
- 1 cup nut meal ( Hazelnut Meal/Flour or Almond Meal/Flour)
- ¼ cup Pecorino Romano (or similar)
- 4 egg whites
- 1 Tbsp dried minced onion
- 1 tsp garlic, minced (2 cloves)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Directions:
Add the bread crumbs through cheese to a food processor, pulse till mixed. Add the remaining ingredients, process on high till smooth, scraping as needed. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make balls with a 1 Tablespoon Disher, drop onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
Add to meal of choice.
Makes 16 balls.
Swedish-Style Meatballs with Mushrooms
Ingredients:
- 2 batches meatballs from above, baked
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1 tsp garlic, minced (2 cloves)
- ¼ cup white whole wheat flour
- 3 cups mushroom broth
- 1 Tbsp parsley
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ cup milk
- 13.25 ounce package multi-grain or whole wheat noodles
Directions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, cook pasta for time on package, drain.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high, add the oil and mushrooms, sauté until turning golden. Stir in the garlic, cook for a minute more. Add the flour, stir in and cook for a minute, then whisk till smooth. Add the parsley, pepper and nutmeg. Simmer, whisking often, until the sauce thickens. Stir in the milk, add the meatballs and turn down to medium-low. Simmer gently until the noodles are cooked.
Plate up the pasta, top with the meatballs and sauce.
Serves 4.
~Sarah
Lovely recipe for meatballs – they look really impressive. I shall have to try making nut based “meatballs” :D, I’d never even thought of it before.
They are quite tasty! And you can season them however you want. And it uses up my daily bread I baked 😀