While pasta is my favorite dish of all time, I also like knowing that what I’m eating is healthy. This is why I used recipes from The Curious Chickpea and The Simple Veganista to create a dish packed with healthy vegetables. By replacing my usual bolognese sauce with a sauce full of vegetables, and my usual ground beef or pork meatballs with chickpea meatballs, I knew I was getting a good serving of healthy nutrients. You can use these chickpea meatballs in vegetable sauce with pasta, rice… you name it! You have plenty of options!
Creamy Vegetable Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 – 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 eggplant (or, 1 medium Zucchini), cut in half, thinly sliced
- 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced and cut in half
- 28 oz. diced tomatoes, with juices
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- mineral salt & cracked pepper to taste
- 2 handfuls of spinach, or baby greens of choice
Optional:
- 1/2 Tsp Red Paper Flakes
Directions
In a large flat bottom pan, heat oil on medium-high. Add mushrooms, eggplant, onion, garlic, and spices. Cook until the mushrooms and eggplant are tender. Stir frequently! Add the tomatoes and cook until heated through. Stir in spinach and let it wilt. Add your favorite pasta, and chickpea meatballs. Or, serve sauce with chickpea meatballs over rice!
Chickpea “Meatballs”
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked brown rice or other grain, cold or room temperature
- 30oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs (use gluten-free if desired, or make your own)
Directions
- In a food processor add the cooked brown rice, and garlic and pulse until finely ground. I don’t have a food processor, so I use a blender. It does the job (slowly- I don’t exactly recommend it). As always, when it comes to any kitchen machinery- be careful!
- Add most of the chickpeas (reserve ~1/2 cup), nutritional yeast, tomato paste, olive oil, basil, salt, and black pepper. Process until ground into a thick mixture that holds can be pressed into a meatball and hold its shape. Add some breadcrumbs, a little bit at a time, if the mixture is soft and needs help holding together. Add the rest of the chickpeas and pulse until they are coarsely chopped.
- Preheat the oven to 375 ºF, and shape the mixture into balls using about 2 tbsp per ball. Press the mixture together as you roll them to help them hold together.
- You can either, bake them in the oven for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through for more even baking. Or, you can do them stove-top in a large pan. Let cool slightly before using, or make in advance and refrigerate.
Thoughts
While I am pretty pleased with how it all turned out, I’m unsure as to whether or not I would make this again. Cooking is usually a form of therapy for me. It helps me relax, I get lost in the process and aromas, and I am met with a delicious meal at the end of it.
Unfortunately, making these recipes felt a bit more like a chore and it wasn’t as enjoyable as I had imagined. It felt like the amount of dishes it created wasn’t worth the meal- “Good grief, Charlie Brown!”. Again, perhaps it was just one of those days. We’ll see if this changes the next time I make it! I may have to try a different take on it, too… we shall see!
Do you ever have days when you’re very excited to make something and then it just falls flat? (Sometimes it can literally fall flat depending on what you’re making). What do you do? Do you take a break and go back to it like I did? Do you try making the recipe on a different day? Let me know in the comments! As always, thanks for stopping by! I always appreciate it. Until next time, happy cooking!
Related:
Parmesan Butternust Squash Sauce with Pasta