Meatless meatballs

Meatless meatballs are just a find for me when my friend comes to visit - she just has been engaged in vegetarianism for many years. Also, these wonderful chickpea meatballs in tomato sauce are very good during Lent. After all, the combination of golden meatballs with delicate tomato sweet and sour sauce will be a good alternative to meatballs. They are hearty, juicy and very tasty. In general, from these wonderful beans you can cook many dishes and snacks: for example, hummus and falafel.

Ingredients:

For meatballs:

• chickpeas - 300 grams;
• carrots - 150 grams;
• onions - 100 grams;
• parsnip - 70 grams;
• vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons;
• celery stalk - 1 piece;
• whole grain flour - 0.5-1 tablespoon;
• salt to taste;
• ground black pepper - to taste;
• garlic - 1 clove.

For the sauce:

• tomato paste or tomatoes in their own juice - 400 milliliters;
• whole grain flour - 1 tablespoon;
• sugar - 1 teaspoon;
• salt to taste;
• spicy herbs - to taste;
• flour or breadcrumbs for breading - 4 tablespoons.

Meatballs without meat. Step by step recipe

1. First you need to boil the chickpeas. You can use a ready-made boiled chickpea, which is sold: but you need to take it without additives.

Tip. Chickpeas, aka peas, are cooked like ordinary peas. But first you need to soak the chickpeas in cold water in a ratio of 1 to 4: that is, for one glass of chickpea we take 4 cups of cold water. Water should be just cold, because hot water will help seal the top layer of peas: that is, folding protein, which is rich in all legumes. Soak the chickpeas for 3-4 hours. Then we drain the water that the beans did not absorb, pour and pour the chickpeas with clean water. We put the chickpeas to cook first on a strong fire (before boiling), then switch to low and cook until tender. From time to time you need to remove the foam. You need to salt boiled chickpeas at the end: since peas become hard from salt.

1. Carrots and parsnips should be peeled and grated. Peel and cut onions into small cubes.
2. We pass the vegetables in a pan with the addition of vegetable oil. Oil can be used olive, sunflower or corn.
3. Using a submersible blender, grind the chickpeas on mashed potatoes. You can add a couple of tablespoons of water in which the chickpeas were boiled so that the mashed potatoes were more tender.
4. If you like to feel chickpeas in slices of meatballs (slices), then you can leave slightly grated chickpeas a little.
5. We mix the fried vegetables with chickpea paste, season with spices, salt. Be sure to pepper.
6. Add chopped clove of garlic and a stem of celery. And also a tablespoon of flour, so that the stuffing for lean meatballs from chickpeas kept its shape. If necessary, add more flour.

You can add a tablespoon of semolina - then the meatballs will become more magnificent.

1. We form meatballs from the prepared minced meat and bread them in whole grain flour or in breadcrumbs.
2. Fry meatless meatballs in vegetable oil until golden brown.

Tip. For frying, it is better to use refined vegetable oil: it will not foam.

1. Preparing the sauce for chickpea meatballs. We dilute tomato paste or ketchup with water: but tomatoes in their own juice are best for the sauce. Slightly chop the tomatoes themselves with a spoon, add salt to taste and herbs to them: for example, Tuscan, Provencal or dried oregano.
2. Add a tablespoon of flour and sugar, mix everything thoroughly. Flour will help make our sauce thicker, and sugar will give the sauce a pleasant sweetness.
3. We put the fried meatballs in a saucepan and pour the sauce. Cover, and over medium heat simmer chickpea meatballs for 5-7 minutes.
4. Tip. You can put the fried meatballs in the hot oven for several minutes. The dish will also be very tasty.
5. This dish is served hot, poured with sauce and sprinkled with herbs. Meatballs in tomato sauce can be either an independent dish or served with a side dish: for example, boiled potatoes.

There is another recipe from chickpeas, something similar to the previous one. This is a falafel dish that is very popular in Israel.

• To prepare it, you need boiled chickpeas, mashed in mashed potatoes.
• Finely chopped onion, and chopped parsley and cilantro, as well as a few cloves of crushed garlic.
• Mix everything and add spices: coriander, cumin, black and red pepper, ground curry and salt.
• Add a few tablespoons of flour and form small balls - with a diameter of 4 centimeters.
• Deep-fried them.
• Ready falafel needs to be blotted with paper napkins and can be served.

Chickpea dishes: such as meatballs without meat, falafel, hummus - are very rich in protein. Therefore, they can easily replace meat products - especially during Lent. And you can find recipes for other delicious lean dishes on the site "I like to cook."