Easy Mediterranean Lentil Meatballs
http://feeds.101cookbooks.com/~r/101Cookbooks/~3/sU9QHrmJFZ4/
Burritos make good plane food. I remember seeing a woman twenty years ago on a flight with her husband and two children. They all had burritos. Foiled peeled back, five hours into a flight, I wanted to insert myself into her family. It was the moment I realized that a bit of extra craziness as you’re trying to get out of the house for a trip can be worth it. So, yes, burritos – they’re portable, you can eat a portion, rewrap, and save the rest for later. And the best part? You can fill them with whatever you like.
I made these vegan burritos to take on a flight from San Francisco to Honolulu, and froze the remainder to guarantee an easy meal when we got back. Each one is filled with quinoa, mung beans, and lots of shredded kale. Which might not sound appetizing, but(!) everything comes together with a creamy, serrano chile-spiked avocado dressing. Think feisty green goddess. The dressing is boosted with extra lemon, and the acid helps to keep the avocado bright, and loosens the kale up a bit at the same time. Double win.
A couple of notes…I like these at room temperature, but you can certainly heat if you like. To freeze, wrap in a later of parchment paper, and then again in a piece of foil. Place in a large freezer bag. Also, if you have a hard time finding mung beans, swap in other beans or lentils.
Don’t you just love it when a recipe is as simple as ‘mix + bake’? No pre-cooking, no unnecessary extra steps – just mix together all of the ingredients, and pop it in the oven. And that’s just the case for these vegetarian lentil meatballs (lentil balls? vegeballs? meatlessballs?). They couldn’t be easier.
Other easy ‘mix and bake’ recipes → easy nut roast; baked fajita rice; Boursin pasta.
I served my lentil balls with spaghetti and tomato sauce – spaghetti and meatballs is such a classic that’s hard to improve on. If you prefer, you could equally serve these vegetarian meatballs with couscous and tzatziki, stuffed into pitta bread, or even just eaten straight from the oven (no judgment here). They’re packed with Mediterranean-inspired flavours, and they’re super versatile.
The basic recipe for these lentil meatballs is canned lentils + flour + egg (the same base I used for my cheesy lentil burgers). Once you’ve got that far, you can jazz things up however you like. I added:
If you like, you could easily switch things up to bring a different flavour profile to your meatballs – maybe you could make a Tex-Mex version, or use some Indian spices, for example.
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Here’s what you’ll need to make these vegetarian meatballs. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
You could certainly mix together the ingredients in advance, and then store the mixture in a sealed container in the fridge for a day or so, until you’re ready to shape and bake the balls. The meatballs are tastiest when freshly baked, but if needed, you could even bake them in advance, and then reheat when you’re ready to eat them.
I didn’t experiment with freezing these balls, but it’s the sort of recipe I have had luck with freezing in the past, so I definitely think it’s worth a try.
The easiest way to reheat these lentil meatballs is in the microwave. They do dry out a little and lose their crispiness when reheated, but they’re still tasty. Alternatively, you could re-crisp them in the oven or air fryer.
I served my meatballs with spaghetti and tomato sauce, which worked beautifully. You could alternatively serve them stuffed into pitta bread with some tzatziki, or alongside some mashed potato.
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