Vegan meatball alternative "Bean-far beanballs"
(my own touch, tee-hee)
I haven't blogged from my creative space inside myself, my own abi, in a while. i've been feeling discouraged by a lot of things, namely my lack of creativity, and how i've been comparing my small little blog to the ones with over a thousand followers... and that doesn't work! i realized one cool thing i have going is my vegan diet, and since i refuse to eat processed foods, its getting pretty creative! so here goes, i hope i can post a recipe often, and tell me what you think! i wonder if i can do a recipe and something else?? well i'll see! xx, enjoy. i really liked this one.
* * *
what you'll need (according to my successful adaptation):
- 20 oz of cooked kidney beans (around a cup and a quarter). i used both kidney beans and white beans, but be careful: the white beans make them fall apart more easily
- 1 tablespoon of soy-sauce
-2 tablespoons of tomato paste (freeze to keep any unused for later recipes)
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
-a little less than 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest ( i found it to be strong in the mix, so if you love lemons, go for as much as you'd like)
-1/2 cup bread crumbs ( i recommend medium sized, not finely grated)
-1/4 cup whole wheat flour
-1/2- 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite flavoring, such as parsely, dried oregano, dried thyme
what you do:
mash the kidney beans in a mixing bowl with a fork or other medium until you have a smooth mix (BUT make sure you can still tell they are kidney beans, don't mash too much)
-add the soy sauce, tomato paste, olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, bread crumbs, flour, herbs
-use a fork to mix everything together
-knead the mixture until it is well-blended and firm
-roll the balls into walnut-sized balls
to cook:
-preheat large skillet over medium heat with about 1/4 inch of olive oil
-cook for around 15 minutes.
(-the recipe book says you can coat them in marinara sauce after cooking once, then throw them back in for another 15 minutes. i didn't do this)
sorry the pictures are a mess, my canon goes for a holiday in my house every couple of days!
ENJOY!
