Here’s an updated take on the un-meatball recipe I posted last year. Jake added a whole mess of kale to these and they were the best we’ve tasted yet. I quickly wrote down the recipe, amounts are estimates, as with most of our savory dishes. For our everyday meals, it’s more about technique than getting the exact quantities of ingredients each time, and seasonings are really to your personal taste.
The original recipe used ground pumpkin seeds (or nuts) which can make the un-meatballs a bit heavier. Sometimes we use sprouted whole grain bread crumbs and omit the nuts/seeds completely, as we did here. The kale adds the perfect amount of moisture, releasing liquid as is cooks during the baking process. Lots of kale {you can use other dark leafy greens too} gives these amazing flavor, and the moisture keeps them soft and juicy.
Vegan Kale Un-Meatballs
Ingredients
- Note: amounts do not have to be exact, vegetables can be exchanged for others you have on hand
- 1 1/2 Cups firm tofu
- 2 packed Cups of finely chopped kale or other dark leafy greens
- 3 slices of sprouted whole grain bread
- 2 stalks of celery
- 3 medium carrots
- 1/2 of a medium onion
- 6 porcini mushrooms
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 3 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon of unsalted house seasoning blend of your choice our own blend will be added to the shop soon
- 1 teaspoon kosher flake sea salt really to your taste
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds optional
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds optional
- Pinch of ground hot chilis
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425˚F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or you can use a seasoned cast iron skillet to bake these in as well, your choice, the skillet may darken the bottoms of the un-meatballs more so than the parchment paper.
- Toast bread slices and process into fine crumbs in a food processor. Transfer crumbs to a large mixing bowl. Finely chop kale and transfer to the mixing bowl.
- Wash, peel and trim the rest of the vegetables and garlic. Quarter larger veggies. Add vegetables to food processor and process into mince-sized pieces. Transfer minced veggies to mixing bowl.
- Add tofu to the food processor and process until smooth and creamy, like a ricotta cheese texture and consistency. Transfer tofu to mixing bowl.
- Add oil and seasonings to the mixing bowl and combine everything together using your clean hands or a large spoon/spatula.
- Form the mix into balls: 2" for smaller balls and 4" for larger balls (pictured in this post). Place balls onto prepared baking sheet or into cold skillet as you go. You can drizzle the tops of the un-meatballs with some more extra-virgin olive oil if you wish, but it is not necessary.
- Bake on center rack for 40-45 minutes for large un-meatballs and about 25-30 minutes for smaller ones.
- Remove from oven and serve hot, right away over coconut basmati rice and homemade marinara sauce as shown here or over pasta and sauce and a big green salad. The coconut basmati is just coconut milk folded into the just-cooked rice. Enjoy!
Kaity Farrell
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