On Top of Old Smokey…

all covered in cheese…I lost my poor WHEATBALL…when somebody sneezed. 

Last night Matt and I made a batch of wheatballs.  The recipe makes two meals worth for us.  Half the meatballs were consumed tonight, the rest are going to spend the next few weeks chilling in my freezer. 

Here is the recipe – from the No Meat Athlete:

Wheatballs

Makes about 28 22 wheatballs

• 1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup chopped white mushrooms
• 2 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs Italian Panko
• 1/2 cup wheat gluten flour (vital wheat gluten)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon couple shakes paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, mushrooms, garlic, and parsley and pulse until coarsely ground, but not pureed.  Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to combine.

2. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture into a large bowl and knead the mixture until well blended, about 2 minutes.

3. Pinch off a small piece of the mixture, press it together in your hand, then roll into a 1 1/2-inch ball.  Repeat with the remaining mixture.

4. In a large skillet, heat a thin layer of oil over medium heat.  Add the wheatballs, in batches if necessary, and cook until browned all over, moving them in the pan as needed for even browning, about 5 minutes.

5. Repeat until all the wheatballs are cooked.  They are now ready to use in recipes. If not using right away, cool completely, then cover and refrigerate or freeze until needed.  Properly stored, they will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or in the freezer for 3 to 4 weeks.

Today I added the wheatballs to a new marinara sauce my mother-in-law gave us last weekend.  Rao’s Marinara Sauce is her favorite jarred sauce – after her homemade sauce.  I trust her judgment – she is 100% Italian!

I love the ingredient list but unfortunately it is typically out of our price range – I have seen it range from $6.99-$9.99. 

I will say, there is a reason this sauce is so expensive – it is amazing.  The best jarred sauce I have ever tasted.  So fresh and the right balance of chunky tomatoes to smooth sauce.  I will keep my eyes peeled for a sale. 

On the stovetop the wheatballs simmered in the sauce while I cooked up some Whole Wheat fusilli pasta.

With some shaved parmesan cheese.

I love this wheatball recipe – so simple and flavorful.  Of course the texture is a little different but the flavor is perfect.  Chickpeas really take the taste of what they are seasoned with – these taste like oregano and basil with a hint of tomato.

They do fall apart a little but I just mashed mine up a little – meant I could savor each bite of pasta with a little wheatball.

With dinner, we had lazy man vegetables – red and yellow pepper and cucumber.

Matt and I split the veggies.

We have been baking our little hearts out tonight – we made muffins and cookies for a bake sale on Sunday.  Check back tomorrow for more details!