Chickpea Meatballs with Spaghetti & Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

• Chickpeas

  (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt

  230g

• Red Onion

  Freshdirect

  ½ small raw or 35g

• Garlic

  Raw

  4 cloves, minced or 12g

• Nutritional Yeast

  Vegan - Whole Foods Market

  2 tbsp or 15g

• Soy sauce

  Regular sodium, Shoyu

  2 tbsp or 32g

• Tomato paste

  Canned, without salt added

  2 tbsp or 32g

• Paprika

  Spices

  ½ tsp or 1g

• Spices Ground Coriander

  Compliments

  ½ tsp or 2g

• Cumin

  Spices, cumin seed

  1 tsp, ground or 3g

• Breadcrumbs

  Clover Valley

  1 cup or 112g

• Parsley

  Raw

  ¼ cup or 15g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  1 tbsp or 14g

• Whole wheat pasta

  Dry

  400g

• Onions

  Raw

  ½ medium or 55g

• Garlic

  Raw

  2 clove or 6g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  3 ⅜ tbsp or 46g

• Tomatoes

  Crushed, canned

  780g

• Tomato paste

  Canned, without salt added

  3 tbsp or 48g

• Red wine vinegar

  2 tbsp or 30g

• Maple syrups

  1 tbsp or 20g

• Rosemary

  Spices, dried

  ½ tsp or 0.6g

• Salt

  Table

  ½ tsp or 3g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  ⅜ tsp or 0.8g

• Basil

  Spices, dried

  1 tsp, ground or 1g

• Oregano

  Spices, dried

  1 tsp, ground or 2g

Directions

1. Chickpea Meatballs: Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
2. Add canned chickpeas to the food processor along with chopped onion, crushed garlic, nutritional yeast, soy sauce and tomato paste. Process until smooth.
3. Add smoked paprika, coriander powder and cumin and process.
4. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and add breadcrumbs and fresh chopped parsley and mix in. Use your hands to form it into a dough.
5. Scoop roughly tablespoon-sized amounts of dough, roll them into balls and place evenly onto a parchment-lined baking tray.
6. Place the tray into the freezer for 15 minutes so that the balls can firm up.
7. Remove the tray from the freezer and lightly brush each ball with olive oil.
8. Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, turning the balls over once at the 10-minute mark.
9. Marinara Sauce: Peel and chop the onion and garlic.
10. Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil in a large saucepan for about three minutes. Stir.
11. Add the crushed tomatoes.
12. Add tomato paste, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, rosemary, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Stir and cook the marinara sauce for 10-20 minutes on low heat, preferably longer. Cover with a lid so it does not splash out so much.
13. When the marinara sauce has boiled together, you can taste it with salt, pepper, sugar and vinegar (salty, sweet and sour) before serving.
14. Recipe by: Alison Andrews (source: https://lovingitvegan.com/chickpea-meatballs/)