Serves 4
Ingredients
- ¾ cup dried lentils (or 2 cups cooked)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, divided and minced
- 1 cup rolled oats (optionally gluten-free),
- blended until a flour
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 ½ tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
- ½ tsp salt, or to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper, or to taste
Method
- Cook the dried lentils in water until cooked (about 20 min until tender). Give the lentils a quick rinse under cold water.
- Sauté the onions in ½ of the oil over medium heat until soft and translucent. Then remove from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F.
- Mix the cooked lentils, onion, raw garlic, tomato paste, soy sauce, red wine vinegar and all the herbs and spices in a food processor.
- PULSE just a couple of times, otherwise the mixture will turn to mush.
- Taste and adjust to your liking. Roll the mixture into 3-4 cm balls and arrange them on a baking sheet. Lightly brush them with 1 Tbsp of olive oil.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes, until firm & lightly browned, flipping the balls halfway through.
- You can use a store bought ‘Tomato Passata’ sauce or make your own (see recipe tips***)
- Cook the lentil balls for 3-5 minutes in the tomato sauce and serve with whole-wheat spaghetti or vegetable zoodles.
RECIPE TIPS:
- A. Home-made tomato sauce:
- 500g fresh ripe tomatoes – cut their skins slightly, place them in boiling water for 10 minutes and remove the skin.
- Place the tomatoes in a medium size pot. Add one fresh chopped onion, 5ml salt, and black pepper to taste, fresh oregano and cook for 45 minutes over low heat.
- Blend the sauce once cooled.
- Prep the lentil mixture a day or two in advance and store it in the fridge or up to two months in advance in the freezer.
- If the lentil mixture becomes too soft to roll, try stirring in a Tbsp of flour to firm it up, then chill it for an hour in the fridge.
