Spaghetti and Non-meat Meatballs

I'm not a fan of mushrooms.  I never have been.  I don't like the taste, and I don't like the texture.  And it's a fungus.  That's just gross.  Fungus is for feet and infections, not food.  So anyway, I've been a long time searching for a recipe including mushrooms in which I did not want to pick them out and set them far across the other side of my plate.  

I was very hesitant at first, since the main ingredient in these meatless meatballs is minced up mushrooms, but it worked!  I couldn't taste the texture of the mushrooms, and the taste was still there, but it blended with other spices and was covered by tomato sauce, so it didn't really bother me.  Jeremy also like these, which is HUGE, because he hates mushrooms even more than I do.

Oh, and also, baby boys loved this.  They ate so much of it, meatless balls and all.  Check out cute pictures of them eating here.

Oh, and sorry for the tupperware photo...I made this before work and was quickly trying to snap pictures before running out the door!

Non-meat Meatballs

Adapted from Veganela.com

1 1/3 cup vegetable broth

1/3 cup arborio rice

8 oz cremini or baby bella mushrooms

4 tsp olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

1 flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax seed + 3 Tbsp water)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/3 cup almondmeal/nutritional yeast mixture (half and half)

1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

In a large saucepan, bring broth to a simmer.  Add in rice, turn heat to medium and simmer, uncovered for about 20 mins, stirring occasionally until rice is tender and creamy.  Set aside in a large bowl.  In a food processor, pulse the mushrooms in batches until finely chopped.  

In a large skillet, heat oil over med-hi heat.  add onions and cook until softened, about 5 mins.  add in the mushrooms and cook a few more mins, until mushrooms have released moisture and are tender.  Add to the rice.  let cool.

Preheat oven to 400.  Add flax egg, bread crumbs, almond/nutritional yeast mixture, parsley, salt and pepper to the rice/mushrooms and mix well.  Form mixture into about 16 2-inch balls.   

In a large skillet, heat up a few more tbsp of oil over med-hi heat.  Add as many of the meatballs that will fit, and cook for just a few minutes on one side, until lightly browned.  Transfer to a greased baking sheet, and repeat with remaining meatballs.  Bake until meatballs are golden brown and firm, about 15-20 minutes.  Serve with pasta and tomato sauce.