Vegan “Meat” Balls

still heavy on the protein with lentils, bulgur, and okara

Vegan “Meat” Balls

I’ve done my research on many vegan meatball recipes, so I’ve decided to give it my own spin. With all the recipes, I’ve noticed a pattern in ingredients: protein, seasoning, flour, and a touch of oil. So for protein, I used a mix of lentils, bulgur, and okara, which is the soybean pulp residual from making soymilk. For seasoning, I used the classic salt and pepper, along with red pepper, a bit of cayenne, Italian seasoning, fresh oregano and basil, and some nutritional yeast. Sundried tomatoes would be good to add as well. For flour, I was initially going to use oat flour, but I ended up using whole wheat for more fiber and protein.

Samin Nosrat’s book, titled Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, is something I’m looking forward to reading! At the end of the day, cooking really is just a game of ratios.

These meatballs really look like ground meat, but I must say that the taste is not there. If you’re not expecting a meaty meatball, these vegan “meat” balls really aren’t too bad. I don’t know if I’ll be making these in the near future, but I enjoyed experimenting with my made-up recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup dry lentils
• 1/4 cup dry bulgur wheat
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp red pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp fresh basil
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup okara (soybean pulp)
• 1/4 cup walnuts.
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to boil, then add dry lentils and bulgur, simmer for 20 minutes then drain and cool.
2. In a food processor, process flax seeds until fine, then in a separate cup combine with 2 1/2 tbsp water to make a flax egg.
3. In emptied food processor, add garlic, salt and pepper, olive oil, peppers, Italian seasoning, and fresh herbs. Pulse until combined.
4. Add lentils, bulgur, and okara, pulse until smooth, then remove from the food processor into a bowl.
5. In emptied food processor, pulse walnuts until ground, then add nutritional yeast and flour, pulse until incorporated.
6. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add extra flour as needed.
7. Add chopped scallions and stir until incorporated, then shape into balls.
8. Bring a cast-iron skillet with 1/2 inch of neutral oil to 350F. Fry “meat” balls on 2 to 3 sides until nicely browned.
9. Transfer cooked meatballs to a glass dish, and bake for 20 min in an oven at 350F until completely browned.
10. Before serving, cook for 5 minutes in pasta sauce to soften up. Enjoy!