Vegetarian meatballs with tomato sauce and polenta
Portions : 4 - Preparation : xx minutes - Cooking : xx minutes
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 500 ml (2 cups) kidney beans
- 500 ml (2 cups) lentils
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) breadcrumbs
- 45 ml (3 tablespoons) tomato paste
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) dried mushrooms
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) steak spice blend
- 1 egg
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
The sauce
- 500 ml (2 cups) tomato purée
- 5 ml (1 tsp.) sugar
- 5 ml (1 tsp.) herbes de Provence blend
- 250 ml (1 cup) onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
- In a bowl containing the mushrooms, pour 1 cup of water and let rehydrate for 15 min.
- Rinse and drain lentils and kidney beans.
- Drain mushrooms, reserving rehydration water for later. Finely chop the mushrooms.
- Using a potato masher, or your hands, mash the beans and lentils to form a lumpy purée.
- Add egg, breadcrumbs, mushrooms, tomato paste, steak spices, salt and pepper.
- Form into golf-ball-sized balls (approx. 35 units).
- In a hot skillet over high heat, brown meatballs in some of the olive oil, 2 to 3 minutes per side, then set aside. In the same pan, sauté the onion in the remaining oil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the sugar, herbes de Provence and coulis and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the meatballs and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add a little water if the sauce becomes too thick.
Polenta
- 500 ml (2 cups) 2% milk
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) mushroom rehydration water
- 500 ml (2 cups) low-salt chicken broth
- 15 g coarse salt
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
- 250 g cornmeal
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 150 gr grated cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat the milk, stock and mushroom water in a saucepan.
- Add the garlic and Provençal herbs and simmer for 5 min.
- Slowly whisk in the semolina.
- Continue cooking while stirring for 5 min.
- Add the butter and cheese and adjust the seasoning.
