Spanish Vegan 'Meatballs'

These soft and delicious ‘meatballs’ are easy to make and are packed full of the flavours of Spain and the sun!

You can serve this with rice, potatoes, bread, Spanish tortilla, or whatever you'd like. Once cooked, avoid stirring the ‘meatballs’ too much, as they may lose their shape, especially when in the sauce. They are fine to refrigerate for a couple of days.

This recipe includes a scoop of our Unflavoured Vegan Protein, for an extra boost of protein (20 grams!)

Serves four

Ingredients:

For the ‘meatballs’:

1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tin of black beans, drained
1 tin of chickpeas, drained - combined weight of 480g with the black beans!
4 sun dried tomatoes (if dried, soak in hot water until plump)
125g cooked rice
50g Vivo Life unflavoured Vegan Protein 

For the sauce:

1 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 large pepper, sliced
1 jar of passata (around 750g)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Mixture of herbs to garnish (parsley, chives, tarra- gon are all good choices!)

Method

1. Start by making the flax egg and set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Heat up a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a little olive oil. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes then add the garlic. Cook until the onions and garlic are just turning golden. Add the black beans, chickpeas and a big pinch of salt, giving the mixture a quick mash with a spoon.

3. Transfer the mixture to a food processor along with the sun dried tomatoes, rice, flax egg and few big pinches of salt. Blend briefly just to get everything combined.

4. Add the Vegan Protein to the mixture and blend until about half of it is smooth but still has some texture from the beans and chickpeas. Taste and season.

5. Heat your oven to 200°c. Roll the mixture into 16 evenly sized balls and add to a baking tray. Place them in the oven and cook for around 20 minutes when they should just be starting to colour and cracking on the surface (this is fine).

6. While the ‘meatballs’ are cooking in the oven, heat up your frying pan over a medium heat with a little olive oil (if there is a little of the ‘meatball’ mixture in there it will be fine). Add the onions and pepper and cook for 3 minutes before adding the garlic. Cook until the onions and garlic are just starting to go golden.

7. Add the red wine vinegar to the pan and let it steam and sizzle for 20 seconds. Add the passata with a big pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes. Add the smoked paprika and cumin and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and season.

8. Serve with the meatballs on top of the sauce and finish with fresh herbs. 
   
   Thanks to @beatonjamie for the recipe!