Description
Since the Covid lockdown, I haven’t been able to go to IKEA® where they serve delicious veggie balls. So in the true self-assemble spirit that makes it so famous, I set out to make a clone. Mine are even better. The original has pea protein and kale, which I find expensive and gross, respectively. I made some changes to make it easier on the wallet and taste buds, then bake them. Some assembly required. Serve bowl-style with rice and your favorite sauce.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 cup diced white onion
- ½ cup diced carrots
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 cup frozen corn
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 teaspoon water, or more as needed
- ¾ cup cooked spinach
- 1 (15 ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
- 1/2 cup red lentil flour
- ½ cup chickpea flour
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ⅛ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 teaspoons garlic and onion seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
Instructions
- Heat vegetable broth in a skillet over medium heat; add diced onion
- carrots
- and bell pepper until softened
- about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add corn and peas. Cook until the corn and peas are warmed through
- 3 to 5 minutes. Add water if needed to keep it from burning. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Squeeze cooked spinach to drain. Pulse chickpeas and drained spinach together in the bowl of a food processor 3 times. Add red lentil flour
- chickpea flour
- yeast
- parsley
- seasoning
- sage
- turmeric
- and white pepper. Pulse another 3 times. Add the cooked vegetable mixture to the food processor. Pulse 5 more times. The final result should leave the chickpeas coarse and the vegetables and herbs chunky with visible pieces of bell pepper
- corn kernels
- and peas.
- Mix dough by hand to ensure all the seasoning
- flours
- and vegetables are fully incorporated. The dough should be sticky
- not dry. Add a bit of chickpea liquid if necessary. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Scoop out dough to make 30 balls
- arranging them on the prepared baking sheet with about an inch separation.
- Bake in the preheated oven until browned
- 25 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Servings: 6