Jul 2, 2011

Quick Vegan Meatballs

These little babies hold together well, and are deliciously easy to make.  And on the plus side for me, it feeds up to 10 people!




Saturdays are often "Semi-Homemade Saturdays," because I usually need to throw something together quick for the guys, before they go off to the club.  These were made with a package of Tofurkey Italian sausages and a can of organic chickpeas as the main ingredients.  I also added a little seasoned TVP for extra texture, but that's optional.


They're nice and crispy on the outside, and tender pillows of flavor on the inside.

Makes about 42 one-inch meatballs

Ingredients:
1 package of Tofurkey Italian style sausages (four links)
1 15oz. can chickpeas (drained)
1/4 C. all purpose flour
1 tsp. dried oregano
pinch of salt & pepper

(Optional for added texture)
1/3 C. TVP granules
1 tsp. nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. dried basil
pinch of salt
1/4 C. hot water

Spinz:
In a food processor, throw in sausages that have been cut into rough chunks, drained chickpeas, and seasonings.  Pulse until mixture starts to clump together and push against the walls (it should be finely chopped but not pureed).  Scrape down the sides and add flour.  Pulse until combined- if it's too stiff to spin, dump out into a bowl and knead with your hands.  
Optional TVP:  In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients except water.  Pour in hot water and stir until TVP is hydrated and fluffy.  Add this to the previous mixture and knead in with your hands.
Form into 1-inch meatballs.
To cook, add vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a skillet.  Put meatballs into the pan when hot, leaving room  to roll around and brown on all sides.  

3 comments:

  1. Ooh those sound good! Good thing because I'm making pasta for dinner tonight. :)

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  2. those look insanely legit! now i'm bummin i wasted my Tofurkey Sausages on the same boring old vegan lasagna! why?! i have yet to make meatballs that look so solid!

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  3. Though I'm a bit leery of any food in "ball"-format... These do sound really good! Perhaps I'll just have to get over that prejudice and try these. Sounds like this recipe would have the best shot of winning me over.

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