Lentil "meatballs"/veggie balls (vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free)

I love lentils, packed with healthy stuff and easy to cook I tend to include them for an extra protein and fiber punch in my rice dishes.  So when my girlfriend expressed an interest in trying a lentil meatball meal for dinner I enthusiastically took to the internet to see what people had to say about it.  I saw almost the same basic recipe for most of the blogs I looked at.  I decided a lot more could be done and took to my kitchen to experiment.  And though I give a fairly simple recipe here it should be mentioned for any cook looking to make a veggie meatball that there is plenty of room to make it your own.  Meatballs are extremely versatile and can be paired with many different sauces and accompaniments.  Meatballs are eaten all around the world mixed with different spices, herbs, protiens, vegetables, starches, and fats.

The veggie balls are a lot like traditional meatballs.  The ingredients here are flexible as long as the binders (starch and eggs) are there to allow the whole mess to become a cohesive, round(ish), delicious bite full of flavor and personality.  For the breadcrumbs you can substitute panko, or crumbled stale (or fresh) gluten-free bread that you may have on hand. The vegetable fillers could be substituted as well, onion and garlic are i think, necessary, but carrot could be replaced by grated potato or parsnip.  Barley can be replaced with brown rice, quinoa, or bulgur wheat.  It all depends on your preference and dietary needs.  

As far as herbs and spices go, the sky is the limit.  Capitalizing on my sprouting herb garden I used fresh herbs in my veggie balls. Almond nut meat from making soy milk would work extremely well here. It can also be excluded from the mix all together. It really is flexible.

Feel free to use dried herbs if fresh aren't available.  If you're making this recipe for a traditional pasta and "meatball" dish use dried or fresh basil and oregano in the balls and some parmesan cheese.  Many veggie ball recipes call for ricotta cheese, replace ricotta for the almond meal if you choose.  I wanted to keep this recipe dairy-free and so chose the almond meal (left over

I recommend these little balls for all kinds of cuisine, they simply make a great meat substitute.  For Indian recipes, just add some cumin and coriander to the spice mix and pair with coriander chutney or a  lime-cilantro sauce on a bed or rice or lettuce.  Put the little balls on a pita eat it like a falafel with hummus, lettuce, tomato, and feta.  Put them on a roll with marinara and provolone cheese and have a vegetarian meatball sub.

 
The Basics:
1. Mix lentils, barley, carrot, onion, garlic in vegetable broth and simmer on low heat until lentils are soft.
2. Mix in eggs, herbs, spices, gluten-free breadcrumbs, and softened almond meal to a uniform consistency.
3. Form your "meatball" sized balls with the mixture.
4. Coat a pan lightly in olive oil and saute' lentil ball on all sides until brown.
5. Add lentil balls to your dish.


Recipe:
Lentil Balls:
2 c. lentils
1/2 cup pearled barley
1 grated carrot
5-6 cloves garlic minced
1 small onion minced
2 c. vegetable broth
1/8 c. chopped fresh parsley
1/2  tsp. paprika (add another 1/2 tsp. if you like a spicy "meatball")
salt and pepper 
2 eggs
1 c. softened almond meal (or 3/4 c. ricotta cheese)
1/2 cup of gluten-free bread crumbs (or regular bread crumbs for the non-gluten-free individual)
2 tsp. of grated Romano and/or Parmesan cheese (optional)



Method:
1. Place a medium sized stock pot on medium to high heat and add vegetable broth.
2. At a light boil add lentils, barley, grated carrot, diced onion, and garlic.
3. Mix well and cook covered on low until lentils are soft.
4. Place cooked lentil mixture in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher leaving some lentils whole.
5. Thoroughly mix in eggs, herbs, spices, cheese and softened almond meal to a uniform consistency.
6. Form little lentil balls.
7. Heat a saute' pan brushed with olive oil.
8. Brown lentil balls on all sides.


Recipe:
Soften Almond Meal:
1. Boil 1 cup of water.
2.Once boiling whisk in 1 c. almond meal .
3. Let sit 5-10 minutes before adding to Lentil ball mixture.


Assembling the Mess:
1. Add lentil balls to a sandwich or any prepared sauce, pasta, or rice dish.
2. I prepared a classic marinara sauce and spaghetti noodles and added the lentil balls with some Percino cheese, as pictured above.  Yum!
3.  I also prepared a salad with lentil balls on top with a coriander chutney I bought from the Indian market, also shown above. 

ENJOY!