Name: Vegan meatballs in spiced lentil sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 large red onion; 2 cloves of garlic; 1 small aubergine or ½ medium; 1 small carrot; 2 tsp tomato purée; 2 tsp harissa paste; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika; ½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder; 1 tin of chopped tomatoes; 1 tsp brown sugar or 2 tsp maple syrup ( optional); 100g baby spinach; 1 handful parley or coriander leaves; About 24 vegan meatballs; 1 tin brown lentils, drained; Salt & pepper

Vegan meatballs in spiced lentil sauce

19 Nov 2020

by Wholeness

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Total Time

40 minutes

Background

You can buy vegan meatballs in most supermarkets these days - some are really quite decent, suitable for lovely comforting meals like this one. These vegan meatballs in spiced lentil sauce can be cooked at the same time or you can make the sauce ahead and add the meatballs later. Serve it with pasta, couscous, rice or flatbread.

Ingredients

1 large red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 small aubergine or ½ medium
1 small carrot
2 tsp tomato purée
2 tsp harissa paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp brown sugar or 2 tsp maple syrup ( optional)
100g baby spinach
1 handful parley or coriander leaves
About 24 vegan meatballs
1 tin brown lentils, drained
Salt & pepper

Instructions

Finely chop the onion and garlic. Roughly chop the pepper and aubergine into small pieces.
Heat a Tbsp of oil in a large frying pan, then gently sauté the onion until soft. Add the garlic, aubergine and red pepper. Put the lid on and gently simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the spices, tomato purée and harissa paste. Season with salt and pepper, stir for a few seconds, then pour in the chopped tomatoes. Using the tomato tin, add some water, just enough to cover the vegetables. Add the sugar if used.
Put the lid on and gently cook for 20-25 minutes until you get a thick sauce.
Meanwhile, set the oven temperature to 190C degrees, and bake the meatballs for 15 to 20 minutes – check the cooking time on the packaging. Alternatively, you could fry them in a pan.
When the tomato sauce is ready, add the spinach and, using a liquidiser or a handheld blender, whiz it into a smooth, silky sauce.
Put it back on the cooker, add the drained lentils and meatballs. Warm through then serve with chopped coriander scattered on top.