Meatballs ~ No Meat!

I took a notion to make meatballs, and maybe a veggie patty or two. But, of course, these had to be made with something other than meat. I remembered reading that sweet potato and black beans make a nice mixture, but I couldn't find any recipe. So I decided to wing it. My first effort was a little mushy. I needed a binder, but I don't eat eggs either, and I wasn't that big on GF crumbs. A friend suggested ground flaxseeds. Hey! Good idea! So I tried it.

Here's the recipe... very simple: Saute some chopped mushrooms and a small, chopped onion. Set aside. Into a bowl place 3/4 cup boiled and mashed sweet potato; 3/4 cup canned organic black beans, drained and rinsed; 3/4 cup ground flax seeds; salt, pepper and spices of choice. Now you could use a food processor if you want, but I'm getting tired of washing mine, so I got hold of a sturdy fork and applied elbow grease to mash up the black beans, and then mix everything together.

Get your clean hands in there and fashion meatballs about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter, and/or fashion a patty or two. (I got about 16 meatballs and one patty out of this batch.) Place into a warmed skillet coated with oil. (I used garlic olive oil.) Cook them on low-medium heat, turning as necessary. Watch them... you want them browned and warmed through, but not blackened. ;o)

Once they're cooked, pack them into a container, cool and refrigerate. (This helps them "set" or firm up.) When it comes to serving, add them to what you want ~ rice, pasta and sauce, potatoes and veges... whatever you like. Just warm them in the microwave and you have a yummy, healthy, vegan addition to your meal that's loaded with fiber and Omega 3. Enjoy!

Now I'm adding more to this post because I made this a couple more times with adjustments, one of which was to make a meatloaf. The first one was good. The next one was soggy. ;p Never one to be hindered by failure, I tried again, making more adjustments and made some giant meatless meatballs. Here's what I did differently: I left out the sweet potato. It is a nice mix with the black beans, but I find that these vary in moisture and too much moisture is a bad thing for meatless meat. So this time I just drained and rinsed a can of black beans and crushed them with a fork, then added the sauteed chopped onions and portobello mushrooms. Into a food processor I put about 3/4 stalk of celery, 3 carrots and 2 cloves of garlic... whrrrrr. All chopped up, I added these to the mixture. Then I put in a tbsp. each of Tamari sauce, GF Worchestershire sauce, and GF hot sauce. (Read the label on your Tamari to make sure it's wheat free. Apparently there are some misguided brands out there.) Then, to absorb that moisture you need the ground flax seed. You can also add some almond "flour" if you like. I also added a couple tbsp. of raw sunflower seeds put through my grinder, and 3 tbsps. of GF flour, and for good measure, a tbsp. of instant onion soup mix, GF of course. (optional) Salt (in moderation, especially if you use the onion soup mix) and pepper, and just a little (optional) Tex Mex spice (being sure that it is also GF). Once all this was thoroughly mixed and a nice, firm consistency, I made giant meatballs and placed them in a lightly greased muffin tin, baked at 350 for about 45 mins.

My plan was to cool and refrigerate them before use, but as soon as they were cool my daughter and I had to try them. They were so good right out of the oven that we each ate one. :)

Don't be afraid to experiment in search of the texture and flavours that you like best. The worst you can do is fail, and failure is just learning.