Lentil Meatballs

This recipe just looked delicious and extremely intriguing so I had to try it.  I think the only reason I hadn't yet was because of the Lebanese 7-spice.  Yes, I could have made it myself, I was just lazy because the recipe had so many steps to it.  I remembered there was this little store by work that sold mainly Mexican products but also had some Middle Eastern supplies.  And lucky me, I found it there.

I doubled the meatball portion of the recipe because if I was going to do all the work, I wanted to make it worthwhile.  This was good to make on a Saturday, when not rushed.  I did everything in a leisurely manner and it didn't seem like too much work that way.  It was labor intensive.  Meatballs I did first and then started over for polenta, and the sauce.  LOTS of work.  I used:

For the meatballs:

•    1 cup dried green lentils
•    10 ounces cremini (chestnut) mushrooms
•    1.5 cups drained sun-dried tomatoes
•    1 cup walnuts
•    2 teaspoons soy sauce (I used low sodium)
•    6 tablespoons olive oil
•    8 garlic cloves, chopped
•    1 large onion, finely chopped
•    2 celery stalks, chopped
•    2 carrots, finely chopped
•    2 teaspoons Lebanese 7-Spice Seasoning
•    2 teaspoons dried oregano (I used Mexican)
•    4 tablespoons tomato paste
•    Parsley leaves, to garnish
•    Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

•    Extra virgin olive oil
•    2 garlic cloves, chopped
•    1 jalapeno pepper, chopped finely with stems/seeds
•    1 large onion, finely chopped
•    1/2 teaspoon cumin
•    1/2 teaspoon coriander
•    Pinch of chili flakes
•    6 Roma tomatoes, chopped
•    1 cup vegetable broth
•    One 10 oz can of Rotel with chilies
•    1 tablespoon tomato paste
•    Handful basil leaves, torn

I followed the directions as per the recipe:

I preheated the oven to 400ºF and lightly oil a baking sheet.

I rinsed the lentils and put them into a saucepan, covered with low sodium "Better than Bouillon" vegetable base.

I cooked it over a simmer for 40 minutes until the lentils were soft.

I strained mine as not all the liquid was absorbed.

I put the mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, and soy sauce into a food processor.  I omitted the oil as my sun-dried tomatoes were soaked in olive oil and added salt and pepper.  I blended until it became a paste.

Over medium heat, I sautéd the garlic for 1 minute.

Added the onion, celery, and carrot and sautéed until soft.

Added the 7-spice and oregano and seasoned with S&P.

Added the mushroom paste to the frying pan and cooked over low heat for another 5 minutes. Added the lentils and stirred for about another 5 minutes. Finally, add the tomato paste and cooked for another minute or so.

I let it cool.  I made balls the size of golf balls and placed on  parchment paper sprayed with "Pam" on a baking sheet. I used a half cup measure to form the balls and make sure they were all the same size.  I realized I had a LOT of mixture.

I put these in the fridge until I was ready to make dinner.  Baked for 30 minutes until browned.

To make the sauce: Added a tablespoon of olive oil to a saucepan. Put in the garlic and sautéed for a minute without browning. Added the onion & jalapeno, and sautéed until softened. Added the spices and chili flakes and stirred for another few minutes.  I stirred in the chopped tomatoes, the vegetable broth, the canned tomatoes, and the tomato paste.  I brought to a boil. I checked the seasoning and added in the basil.

I brought to a boil, then lowered the heat and simmered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I served the “meatballs” with lots of tomato sauce and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.  I also garnished with some freshly shaved Parmesan Reggiano cheese.  I couldn't help but think the meatballs would be good with Polenta, so I made some of my favorite "Anson Mills Rustic Integrale Polenta".

Fantastic stuff!!!  I made this an hour before the sauce as it takes that long and will hold up to 30 minutes when done (I just tried to time it to be done with the meatballs, the sauce was on warm, on the burner).

I wasn't sure if my son would like this, but he did.  He cleaned his plate.  He did say trying it all separately, he wasn't sure, but everything together was amazing.  He even liked the meatballs saying they didn't taste like meat, but he wasn't expecting them to.  I told him that this wasn't trying to make the meatballs taste like "meat", it was a vegetarian recipe.  I haven't eaten yet but I did like all the tastes I had while sampling along the way, especially the sauce, it was nice and spicy...and I loved the polenta, just like good heirloom grits!  The meatballs were different with the spicing and sun-dried tomatoes - I'm on the fence about them...maybe I need to do what my son said, and eat everything together?