Chickpea Meatballs in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

Chickpea Meatballs

• 2 cups cooked brown rice or other grain, cold or room temperature

• 1 cup pecans

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled

• 30oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (3 cups cooked)

• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tsp dried basil

• 2 tsp salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (can substitute gluten free), if needed

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

• 2 roasted red peppers (~1 1/2 cups)

• 15oz can coconut milk

• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp salt

• lots of freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tsp dried basil

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1/2 tsp dried thyme

• pinch of crushed red pepper

• basil or parsley to garnish

Preparation

Step 1

In a food processor add the cooked brown rice, pecans, and garlic and pulse until finely ground. 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 can be pressed into a meatball. Add breadcrumbs if the mixture is soft and needs support. Add the rest of the chickpeas and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 375 ºF and shape the mixture into balls using about 2 to 2 1/2 tbsp per ball. A cookie scoop makes this quick. Press the mixture together as you roll them to help them hold together.

Step 3

Grease a baking tray and place the meatballs on the tray. Spray or drizzle with oil. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through for more even baking. Let cool slightly before using, or make advance and refrigerate.

Step 4

In a blender combine all the ingredients for the roasted red pepper sauce. Blend until smooth.

Step 5

Heat the sauce over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Add the chickpea meatballs and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes (~10 minutes if cold from the refrigerator). Garnish with fresh herbs, black pepper, and parmesan (optional). Serve warm.

Note: If you have a smaller food processor or the mixture gets too thick for the food processor to manage, remove the nut and rice mixture before blending up the chickpeas, then mix them together by hand, with a fork, or a potato masher.