Mushroom balls of yum
Removing meat from your diet doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy delicious ‘meat’balls, writes Joe Yonan.
Iate meatballs long before I ate spaghetti. That’s because I’m the grandson of Assyrian immigrants, and I have fond childhood memories in the 1970s of eating koufta, a ball of rice and meat. Koufta and its Middle Eastern kin, sometimes spelt kofta, are considered precursors to the Italian polpette that led to Italian-American meatballs.
Who doesn’t love a plate of spiralling noodles, tossed in tangy tomato sauce, with tender meatballs?
I’ve made meatballs with beef, pork, veal, and chicken, bound by breadcrumbs and egg, pan-fried and then simmered in sauce.
For seven years now, my diet has been plant-based, but the meatballs’ appeal hasn’t changed. What has changed is the recipe.
For years, I made a version from my friend, food writer Domenica Marchetti, which uses eggplant, but it requires roasting the eggplant for an hour before making the balls, then frying them.
I wanted something a little more weeknight-friendly, and I found it in Tamara Green and Sarah Grossman’s book The Living Kitchen. The recipe uses walnuts and two types of mushrooms, bound by brown rice flour (making them gluten-free), and an ‘‘egg’’ made from chia seeds and water (making the meatballs vegan).
There’s no advance cooking required. And instead of frying, you bake them.
Many egg-free, meat-free balls fall apart as they cook, but these don’t. And when you coat them in tomato sauce and nestle them in spaghetti, they give you that bowl-of-comfort feeling.
You can make ahead and refrigerate the cooked meatballs for up to five days, or freeze them for up to five months, then defrost and reheat in a 150 degrees Celsius oven, pan-fry or simmer in tomato sauce.
Serves 4 to 6 (18 meatballs)
■ 1 tablespoon chia seeds
■ 3 tablespoons water
■ 115g shiitake mushrooms (stemmed), caps chopped
■ 115g portobello mushrooms, trimmed and chopped
■ 1 cup walnuts, toasted (see note below)
■ 1⁄3 cup chopped onion
■ 1⁄4 cup lightly packed chopped fresh parsley
■ 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
■ 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
■ 2 cloves garlic, chopped
■ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
■ 1 ⁄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4
■ 1 cup brown rice flour (may substitute white rice flour)
■ 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 190C. Line a rimmed baking tray with baking paper.
Make a chia ‘‘egg’’ by stirring together the chia seeds and water in a small bowl. Let it stand and thicken for at least 10 minutes.
In a food processor, combine the shiitake and portobello mushrooms, walnuts, onion, parsley, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, garlic, and salt and pepper. Pulse until all the ingredients are combined and evenly chopped but not pureed.
Add the chia egg and pulse just until incorporated. Transfer to a mixing bowl and fold in the flour, using your hands as needed to make sure the flour is evenly distributed. The mixture will be a little sticky.
Take two tablespoons of the mixture, shape into a ball and place on the baking sheet. Repeat to make 18 balls of equal size. Lightly brush each ball with oil. Bake (middle rack) for 25 minutes, until firm and browned on the bottom.
Note: Toast the walnuts in a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat, until fragrant and lightly browned, shaking the pan to avoid scorching. Cool completely before using. – The Washington Post
Adapted from The Living Kitchen: Healing Recipes to Support Your Body During Cancer Treatment and Recovery, by Tamara Green and Sarah Grossman (Appetite by Random House, 2019).