Meatless Meatballs

These Meatless Meatballs are great over pasta, in a sandwich, or on their own.

They are so delicious and hearty. Keep them for yourself or serve them at a dinner party! Meatless meatballs will definitely impress everyone their and satisfy any craving. You have to try making these!

Meatless Meatballs [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

• 10.6 ounces of potatoes (better if old, those from gnocchi for instance)
• 8.8 ounces of dried roveja
• 2 carrots
• 2 fists of dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 small leek (also use the green part)
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 piece of dried kombu seaweed (about 1.5 inches)
• 1 bunch of fresh aromatic herbs (parsley, sage and rosemary, thyme)
• 1 teaspoon of paprika (I used the pimentòn de Murcia)
• 1/2 glass of white wine (any good enough that it is not sweet)
• acidulated umeboshi to taste (optional)
• tamari sauce to taste (optional, to be replaced if necessary with sea salt)
• extra virgin olive oil to taste
• rice starch to taste
• unrefined integral sea salt to taste

For the Sauce:

• 10 piennolo tomatoes (or perini or copper)
• 1/2 bottle of organic tomato puree
• fresh basil
• fresh marjoram
• fresh oregano

Preparation

For the Meatballs:

1. Soak the roveja in a large glass bowl with fresh water and the kombu seaweed from 12 to 24 hours changing the water at least twice. After this time, drain and place in a pressure cooker with a new piece of kombu seaweed. Cook 20 minutes from the whistle then transfer it to a plate with all its water, some sea salt and let it cool. The beans must still be firm and slightly cooked, because you will cook them further with the other ingredients.
2. Soak the mushrooms in warm water for about 20 minutes, then drain and squeeze them.
3. Cut the carrot and leek celery into brunoise.
4. Grease generously with extra virgin olive oil the bottom of a large, low pan, add the diced vegetables and sauté over high heat for about 1 minute then add the mushrooms, salt lightly and cover them, lowering the heat to low. The vegetables should braise slowly. After about 10 minutes, add the white wine and let it evaporate.
5. At this point you can add all the roveja taking care to cover the preparation flush with a part of the legume cooking water. Season with the paprika, add the acid of umeboshi and the tamari until it reaches the flavor that suits you.
6. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes then transfer half of the mixture to a blender, mixer or immersion blender. Blend until the cream is not too smooth, then put it back in the pan with the remaining roveja. Mix everything well and cook for about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
7. Peel the potatoes and cook them in steam. Once cooked pass them in the potato masher and collect the puree in a container where you have also put the roveja. Add the finely chopped herbs and mix with a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula.
8. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature then add enough sifted rice starch to adjust the consistency. Put the mixture in the fridge to cool again (minimum 30 minutes).
9. With an ice cream dispenser you can get as many balls of mixture all the same that you will put on a plate lined with parchment paper. Alternatively, form the meatballs with your hands, trying to make them all the same size.
10. Cook the meatballs in a static oven at 180 ° for about 15 minutes (or until they are golden brown). Take them out of the oven and let them cool on the plate without touching them so that they coagulate better.

For the Sauce:

1. Wash and cut the tomatoes into pieces and place them in a thick-bottomed pan with a good dose of extra virgin olive oil. Cook over low heat adding a pinch of salt.
2. Halfway through cooking, add the tomato puree. At the end of cooking add all the aromatic herbs.

To Assemble:

1. Gently take the meatballs and put them to flavor in the sauce. Leave them to flavor for a few hours (better until the next day). Taste them at room temperature.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/meatless-meatballs-vegan-gluten-free/