Here, I use the term “meatball” loosely! These veggie balls are, in fact, made with several ingredients you’ll likely have on hand from your pantry or (even better) in your fridge as leftovers. The brown rice, quinoa, barley and lentils make these very healthy. My family enjoyed these last night as a side to baked salmon and bell peppers. The breadcrumb coating gives them a superb crunch on the outside, while the addition of curry to the filling lends some wicked umami (and nice colour!) on the inside. Even my 1 year old gobbled up several within 5 minutes (and even ignored a cookie in favour of these)! I think any leftover balls would even work great in a pita, served as you would a falafel. Provided you already have the leftovers on hand, as I often do, these are ready in 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked brown rice (leftovers)
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (leftovers)
- 1 1/2 cups cooked Bob’s Red Mill Veggie Soup Mix (leftovers)
- 1 egg, or the equivalent Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
- 1 tbsp medium curry powder (do not use the “grocery store” shaker varieties as they seldom have much flavour. Go to your local Indian grocery store. I am fortunate enough to have a regular supply brought over from Mauritius. If all else fails, there are several available on Amazon.)
- 1 pouch of Shake ‘n Bake (you can also use breadcrumbs but you will need to add some extra seasoning, or make your own version of Shake ‘n Bake using this recipe)
Method
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Pour Shake ‘n Bake into a bowl and set aside.
- Using a spatula, mix together all remaining ingredients until the mixture starts to bind together.
- Form mixture into balls (it helps to use a tablespoon measure for consistency), carefully rolling and covering each ball in the Shake ‘n Bake, shaking gently to remove any excess before placing on the baking sheet.
- Bake for about 15 minutes until balls are crunchy on the outside.
Image: Flickr via David Kosmos Smith
