Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Complexity: easily
Servings: 24

Tender and juicy vegetarian meatballs are made with lentils and mushrooms, seasoned with walnuts, Parmesan, and aromatic herbs for a rich, vibrant flavor. Serve as a main course or as an appetizer, drizzled with fresh homemade basil and spinach pesto.

Ingredients:

Lentils

• 2 cups green lentils
• 2 carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 sprigs thyme, leaves picked (about 1 tbsp)
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/4 tbsp. + 2 tbsp. l. olive oil
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 220 g mushrooms, thinly sliced ​​(about 3 cups)
• Half a bunch of parsley (about 0.5 cups), finely chopped
• 0.5 tbsp. breadcrumbs
• 3 eggs
• 0.5 tbsp. grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Spinach and Basil Pesto

• 1/8 cup walnuts
• 4 cups young spinach leaves
• 2 tbsp. basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 0.5 cups olive oil
• 1/8 tbsp. grated parmesan

Substituting ingredients
Measuring containers used

1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Recipes with similar ingredients

lentils, carrot, celery, mushrooms, pesto sauce, spinach, walnuts, thyme, basil

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Preparation:

Step 1
• Preheat oven to 200°C.
Step 2
• Place the lentils in a medium saucepan and cover with 2 liters of water. Place the saucepan over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the lentils are tender but not mushy, about 25 minutes.
Step 3
• Drain the cooked lentils in a colander and let cool. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, and thyme, seasoning with salt, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
Step 4
• When the vegetables are soft and starting to brown, add the tomato paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until fully cooked, about 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside to cool.
Step 5
• In a large bowl, combine the cooled vegetables with the lentils and all remaining ingredients except 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pesto sauce. Stir until smooth. Refrigerate the mixture until completely cooled, about 25 minutes.
Step 6
• Spray a large 9 x 13-inch baking dish with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, coating the inside evenly. Roll the lentil mixture into round meatballs, about 2 inches (5 cm) in size, compacting them. Place the lentil balls in the greased baking dish, making sure the meatballs don't touch each other.
Step 7
• Bake the lentil balls until tender, about 30 minutes. Let them cool for five minutes before removing them from the pan. Serve with pesto sauce.
Step 8

• Spinach and Basil Pesto

  
  Yield: 4 tbsp.
  
  Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spread walnuts in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Set walnuts aside to cool.
  
  Fill a large saucepan three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Then fill a large bowl with ice water.
  
  Drop the spinach and basil into boiling water and toss the leaves. After 1 minute, remove the greens and transfer them to ice water. Once the greens have cooled, remove them from the ice water and squeeze them dry. Transfer to a food processor. Add the salt, olive oil, and Parmesan to the food processor and process until smooth.

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