Eating a plant-based diet doesn’t mean you miss out on favourite meals like meatballs. The balls are hearty and flavoursome with a simple, tasty tomato sauce. They are made with lentils, white beans and mushrooms, can be made ahead of time and frozen up to three weeks. I often use the left-over meat balls on burgers with a crisp greens and a drizzle of aioli. Left-over sauce is frozen for meals in a hurry.

Health benefits –

·       Lentils are a good source of fibre, protein, complex carbohydrates and iron.

·       The high levels of soluble fibre in lentils help reduce blood cholesterol. 

SPAGHETTI & MEATLESS BALLS

PB, V, GF

Makes approx. 20 balls

1 cup (60 g) dry spaghetti per person

Meatless balls:

1 brown onion, finely diced

3 portabello mushrooms, finely diced

400 g tin brown lentils, rinse and drain

400 g tin white beans, partly drained and mashed

2 tbsp (32 g) coconut aminos/ tamari

1 tbsp (15 g) tomato paste

handful of fresh oregano, finely chopped OR 2 tbsp dried oregano

½ cup (75 g) breadcrumbs

¼ cup (62 ml.) water

400 g organic tomato and basil sauce

Sauté onion in a little water until it's softened on medium heat. Add ingredients to large bowl and mix together. Roll mixture into small balls with moist hands and place on a lined baking paper.

BAKE - Preheat oven to 180’C. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the balls and bake a further 15 minutes.

OR FRY - fry the balls in 1 cm grapeseed oil, heat the oil to 180-190’C, once the oil is hot, carefully add balls with a slotted spoon or tongs, turn when golden.

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water for the given time on the packet. Reserve a 1/2 cup of spaghetti water, drain spaghetti and pour into a serving bowl. Add a little water and tablespoons of dairy free butter and mix well, serve with basil leaves. Heat the sauce and pour into a serving bowl. Place the meatless balls on the sauce. Serve hot.

HOMEMADE TOMATO SAUCE

 PB

Tomato sauce:

2 onions

3 garlic cloves

¼ cup olive oil

1 kilo cherry tomatoes

6 cups (700 g) passata

2 springs thyme or oregano leaves

1 bay leaf

pinch of sea salt

Optional extras: handful of basil leaves

Grate onion and garlic cloves to release the acidity, and sauté in a little water for 5 minutes until softened. Add cherry tomatoes and cook down to release sweetness. Add a bottle of passata, thyme or oregano, a bay leaf, sea salt and simmer gently for 30 minutes. May add basil leaves here in the cooking of the sauce. Bottle in sterilised glass jars.