Vegan Meatballs Recipe

Meatballs are a favourite with many people and feature in many traditional cuisines. I grew up with the Spanish style meatballs, known as ‘albóndigas‘, so when I make them I like to stay as true to the traditional recipe as possible.

I like to use dried soya mince which can be flavoured whichever way you want really. Dried soya mince is very high in protein and relatively inexpensive, and can be very easily found in most health stores and some supermarkets (in Spain it can now be found in Mercadona).

Like in the traditional ‘albóndigas‘ recipe I use parsley and marjoram. The latter may be a bit difficult to get hold of fresh, so dried marjoram can be used instead. Alternatively you can also use any other aromatic herbs of choice, from thyme to oregano. Traditionally egg is used to bind the mixture but I like to keep it dairy free and egg free, and chickpea flour works perfectly well as a binder. These meatballs are tasty, have a good texture and dare I say are delicious! Here I made them with a rich caramelised onion sauce.

Vegan Meatballs Recipe
Yield: 4 Servings
Difficulty: Medium
Prep time:
Cooking time:

Description

Make your own vegan meatballs from dried soya mince in the traditional way. I grew up with the Spanish style meatballs, known as 'albóndigas', this recipe uses dried textured soya protein, with herbs and spices and chickpea flour to bind

Metric
US/Cups

Ingredients

  • 100 g dried soya mince
  • 150 ml vegetable stock
  • 125 g bread crumbs
  • 4 tbsp white wine
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp chickpea flour
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped marjoram or oregano
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
  • 1 tbsp yeast extract (Marmite)
  • 1 tsp Maggi seasoning (liquid aminos)
  • 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • ¼ tsp cumin powder
  • ¼ tsp ground coriander
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp granulated sugar
  • 3½ oz dried soya mince
  • 10 tbsp of vegetable stock
  • 4½ oz bread crumbs
  • 4 tbsp white wine
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp chickpea flour
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped marjoram or oregano
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
  • 1 tbsp yeast extract (Marmite)
  • 1 tsp Maggi seasoning (liquid aminos)
  • 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • ¼ tsp cumin powder
  • ¼ tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp granulated sugar

Instructions

  1. Dissolve the yeast extract (Marmite) in the vegetable stock with the Maggi seasoning, salt, sugar and ketchup.
  2. Add the dried soya mince to a bowl with the cumin, ground coriander and smoked paprika and mix.
  3. Add the liquid to the dried soya mince and mix with a fork. The dried soya mince will absorb the liquid immediately.
  4. Grate (or crush) 2 cloves of garlic, finely chop the parsley and oregano / marjoram, and add to the soya mince.
  5. In a small bowl mix the chickpea flour with the wine and olive oil. This is the equivalent of one egg and should be the consistency of single cream. Add this to the main bowl.
  6. Add the breadcrumbs and mix all the ingredients well. If the mixture is too dry to roll into balls add 1 or 2 tablespoons of vegetable stock.
  7. Moisten your hands and proceed to roll the soya mince dough into balls, about 3-4 centimetres in diameter.
    Vegetarian meatballs rolled
  8. Add some olive oil to a frying pan and place on a medium heat. When the oil is hot add the meatballs and turn them a few times so that every side has browned and hardened slightly. These will caramelise and develop a lovely flavour. They only take a couple of minutes to become golden all over. It is best to do them in batches.
    Vegetarian meatballs, browned
  9. When the meatballs are done add to your favourite sauce. I usually make them with a tomato sauce, an almond and walnut sauce, or in this case a rich caramelised onion sauce.

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