Lentil Meatballs: The Best Recipe

A healthy plant-based alternative to meatballs. The secret of toasted almonds.

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red lentil meatballs recipe 1
  • Preparation time: 20 minutes
  • Cooking time: 50 minutes
  • difficulty: low

How to make lentil meatballs

A healthy and nutritious alternative to Meatballs of meat is to prepare the dough with the red lentilsA few simple ingredients bring the flavor of lentils to the table in a healthy and waste-free way with a quick and tasty recipe.

To prepare this dish we can use any type of lentils, those peeled red ones However, they are smaller and cook more quickly, and their colour, in the mixture, resembles that of meat.

Ingredients

(for 16 meatballs)

  • 200g of red lentils
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 liter of vegetable broth
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • Bread crumbs
  • A stalk of celery
  • A foglia di alloro
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Preparation

  • In a pan, brown 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the garlic.
  • Add the lentils with the peeled carrots, the celery stalk and the bay leaf, let it boil with the broth until completely cooked.
  • Once cooking is finished, drain the lentils, remove the vegetables and, using a fork, reduce them to a puree.
  • In a bowl Mix the lentils, vegetables, egg, and breadcrumbs until you obtain a soft but consistent mixture.
  • Roll it in breadcrumbs again and you can cook it for a few minutes in a non-stick pan with a drizzle of oil or in the oven at 160° for approximately 10 minutes.

And that's not all: here's another one for successful corporate training really delicious, always based on red lentils, with tomato paste, chopped almonds and parsley and basil pestoA true delicacy that is impossible to resist.

Ingredients

(for 4-6 people)

  • 300g of red lentils
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 ribs of celery
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 2 yolks
  • 50 g of chopped almonds
  • 100 g of breadcrumbs
  • parsley
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

Ingredients

(for the pesto)

  • parsley
  • basil
  • chive
  • 30 g of toasted almonds
  • 30g grated Grana Padano
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt

Preparation

  • Place the red lentils in a saucepan, cover with water, add the tomato paste, and cook for 3 minutes, allowing the liquid to be completely absorbed. Season with salt and let them swell further.
  • Chop Coarsely chop the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery; sauté the chopped ingredients in 2-3 tablespoons of oil, add the chopped almonds, and stir until golden.
  • Incorporate Sauté the lentils, add the egg yolks, chopped parsley, and enough breadcrumbs to form a firm dough. Season with salt and pepper.
  • With the ice cream scoop, Take the dough a little at a time and form several hemispherical meatballs, which you will then drop directly onto a well-oiled baking sheet or tray; brush each meatball with oil.
  • Cook Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes; prepare the sauce. Serve the meatballs hot, with the pesto on the side.

How to prepare the sauce

While the meatballs are cooking, finely chop the herbs for the pesto, add the almonds and Grana Padano, and stir for another 30 seconds. Dilute the pesto with 4-5 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Season with salt.

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