Bean and beet way-better-than meat balls

Bean beet balls on top of some pasta



Beets are lovely eh?



Prepping the beans and beets





These bean balls are made out of mashed kidney beans and a small shredded beet. They come together quickly needing minimal kitchen tools. Omit the beets if you don't have them, they aren't necessary, I just liked the idea of how the beets give them a nice color and nutritional boost. If using a food processor, process very lightly; a potato masher and 10 minutes is fine if you want to do it the lazy way. Just add ingredients one-by-one and mash in a large bowl. Chilling the filling allows it to set, but if pressed for time can be omitted. Be liberal with the spices - thyme, basil, marjoram, or any mixture can easily replace oregano. 

Yield: ~20 balls

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp garlic chopped

about 1 and ½ cups cooked kidney beans, or 1, 14 oz can kidney beans rinsed and drained

½ tsp salt

½ tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

pinch cayenne

1 egg, beaten

1 small beet shredded

¾ cup bread crumbs

¼ cup oats

1 tsp water

olive oil to fry

Directions:

1. Add chopped garlic and kidney beans to a bowl. Begin to mash together lightly add in shredded beet and continue to mash until the mixture begins to come together. This should take 5 minutes. Add in salt, paprika, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Continue to mash together. Stir in beaten egg and 1 tsp water and combine. The mixture will be sticky. Add in 2 tbsp of bread crumbs and oats and continue to mix together until the bean mixture can hold together well enough (without crumbling).
2. Place the bean mixture in the fridge for 10 minutes.
3. When done, roll the bean mixture into small balls. Place them on a tray or plate and allow to chill for 15 minutes.
4. When ready to cook, add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil to a wide non-stick skillet. Heat over medium heat until hot. Add in half the balls and cook until golden 5-7 minutes. Carefully turn balls over so that each side gets cooked. Remove cooked bean balls and add the second batch to the pan. You might need to add additional 1 tbsp of olive oil. The bean balls tend to soak up oil, so cook them on medium heat until golden 15-20 minutes total for all of them. I leave them in the pan on low-heat so they are warm when the rest of the meal is ready.
5. Serve on top of pasta or in anything.   

Quinoa Croquettes and Beet and Green Lentil Salad

Being in Belgium, I am tempted to recreate my version of Belgian croquettes. We have had salmon, shrimp, and Trappist cheese ones. They have all been delicious.

We recently ate at a very bland and boring vegetarian restaurant, and while I feel inclined to support places that do vegetarian foods, I am less inspired when the food is only attempting to replace commonly consumed meat foods. I got a "seitan" version of beef stew, and my meal consisted of seitan pieces in a hot broth served with a side of potato coins and a salad. Ew. Boring. We also got a Thai dish, which tasted like jar-curry with Quorn pieces used to replace chicken.
Fail.

The lentils, beets and quinoa can all be cooked within 30 minutes. Use the time while they are cooking to prep the rest of the ingredients. It should go fast.

Beet and Green Lentil Salad

2 large (2" in diameter) beets, roasted or boiled. If you are roasting the beets, they will take on a sweeter flavor. You can scrub them well, then peel, then dice into 1/2" cubes. If boiling instead, just scrub well and simmer in about 2" of water until soft (about 20 minutes). Once cooled, you can peel off skin and cut up. If you peel before boiling, the beets really lose a lot of color and probably a lot of nutrients.
1/2 cup uncooked green lentils, rinsed and picked over
1/2 of a carrot, diced finely
1/2 of a red onion, reserve 2 T for the lentils, and set aside the rest (they will go in the dressing and the croquettes)
1 sprig parsley
1 bay leaf
1 - 1 and 1/2 cups water
1/4 of a lemon
1/4 tsp mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1. Cook the beets. 
2. To prepare lentils, simmer the lentils with the onion, carrot and aromatics. They can be cooked over medium heat for about 25 minutes. 
3. While the beets and lentils are cooking make the salad dressing.  Combine the juice of 1/4 of a lemon, the mustard, olive oil and about 1 T of the chopped red onion together. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
4. Once the lentils are cooked and cooled, combine them with the beets and toss with the salad dressing. Garnish with parsley and set aside. Next, assemble the croquettes.

Quinoa Croquettes:
1/2 cup quinoa, dry
1 cup water
1 clove garlic
2 T parsley, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
2 T red onion, chopped
salt to taste
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
1 large egg, beaten ( or 2 medium eggs)
5" segment of 2 days old french bread, toasted and crushed
enough oil to pan-fry the croquettes

Toast the quinoa in a saucepan for 5 minutes. Shake often. Add the chopped garlic and water and cook over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes.

1. Once the quinoa is cooked and cooled, combine it with parsley, green onions, and parmesan, and salt. 
2. Add in the eggs, and combine. Next add in crushed breadcrumbs, until the mixture is slightly dry and doesn't fall apart
3. Heat up a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add enough oil to pan fry (usually about 1/2" of oil) the croquettes. Form 3" flattened balls and pan-fry for 10-15 minutes each side, or until golden brown.