Vegan Miso Meatballs at Olivia's House!

This is the first time we've ever done a guest post on the blog and it was a blast! It's such a different experience cooking with someone else as opposed to when you're alone. When there's a problem to be solved you have an extra brain with extra ideas and the whole operation just goes so smoothly!

Olivia brought homemade cabbage rolls into work for lunch. She asked if I wanted to try some, to which I immediately said "Bleck, I don't like cabbage rolls". My mom used to make them all the time and I just can't get past the taste of cooked cabbage. It just...it tastes like feet ok! I also think cooked beets taste like dirt. What kind of Ukrainian am I! So anyway, I decided to try a TINY bite. It can't hurt, right? The cooked cabbage obviously made me gag, but the filling was ridiculous! It tasted exactly like ground beef, but it wasn't ground beef, it was a mix of nuts, cauliflower and beans! I was so floored. I immediately set up a cooking session at Olivia's house so we can make this for our blog. We turned the filling into Ikea-inspired meatballs and gravy.

Here is Olivia's vegan meatball recipe!

1/4 head of cauliflower, raw
1/2 cup lentils, canned
1 1/2 cup walnuts, raw or toasted
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp oil (we used coconut)
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin
fresh thyme and oregano (one stem of each)
3/4 cup gluten-free bread crumbs (you could easily substitute spelt flour or ground oats)

Buzz it all up in a food processor. Form into balls. Bake for 40 minutes on 350F flipping halfway through.

Balls of wisdom

Now for the gravy!

2 tbsp white miso paste
1/2 cup each of mushrooms and onions
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup boiling water
Starch/thickening agent (Tapioca starch, arrowroot powder, potato starch)

Heat up a saucepan and add some coconut oil. Add in mushrooms and onions and saute until tender. Add in miso and garlic. Stir up for another minute. Add in boiling water (it will essentially look like miso soup). Bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, reduce to a medium low heat and simmer uncovered for about 20-30 minutes or until the gravy has reduced by 25%. At this point, you could blend it up to make it smooth or leave the mushrooms and onions whole. Up to you! Gradually add in thickening agent by mixing about a tablespoon of the agent with a bit of the gravy, then add it in to the pot. Keep gradually adding it until you've reached a gravy consistency you are happy with.

Arrange meatballs in a dish with any other roasted veg you desire. We roasted up some cauliflower with crushed chipotle peppers. Yum! Pour on the gravy and garnish with green onions.

Caul-eeee

Dish happy