Food / 22 January, 2017 / My Baba
Veggie Balls with ‘Courgetti’, Tomato and Basil Sauce
Ingredients:
- 400g cherry tomatoes on the vine
- 3 garlic cloves (no need to peel)
- olive oil, for drizzling
- sea salt
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 4 large courgettes
- 1 x 28g pack basil, leaves only
For the veggie balls:
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 x 400g tin butter beans, drained
- 300g sweet potatoes
- 300g carrots
- 300g parsnips
- 75g gram (chickpea) flour, sifted, plus extra for rolling
- 1 tsp smoked sweet paprika (we used La Chinata)
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4.
- To make the sauce, put the tomatoes on a baking tray with the garlic cloves; drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and toss to mix. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
- For the veggie balls, dry-toast the fennel seeds in a frying pan for 1-2 minutes or until they smell fragrant, then grind them using a pestle and mortar or whiz to a powder in a spice grinder, then tip into a bowl. Add the butter beans and mash them with a fork. Peel and grate the sweet potato, carrot and parsnip and add those along with the flour, sweet paprika and some seasoning; mix thoroughly. Then, on a floured work surface, divide the mixture into 12 and make 12 equal-sized balls.
- Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan and brown the balls, transferring them to a baking tray as they are ready.
- Roast the veggie balls in the oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, use a spiralizer to turn the courgettes into noodles or a flat-bladed peeler to make ribbons; blanch in salted boiling water for 1 minute, then drain.
- When the tomatoes are ready, discard the vines and put the tomatoes in a liquidiser along with any caramelised bits from the baking tray. Squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins and add those along with half of the basil; blend to a sauce.
- To serve, divide the ‘courgetti’ between four shallow bowls, place 3 veggie balls on each and pour over some of the sauce. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and scatter with rest of the basil, shredded.
Recipe by Sainsbury’s Magazine