something vegetarian....?

I've never understood vegetarian food that tries to pass itself of as meat.....why not celebrate its own deliciousness,and not fret about how to disguise its meatlessness. So here we are ...these are not "meatless meatballs" these are crispy on the outside-moist-in-the-middle-flavorful-healthy-and delicious broccoli balls....loud and proud.

Spaghetti  with fresh tomato sauce and broccoli balls!

I made a quick tomato sauce,but you could also use any prepared meatless sauce....

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 chopped onion
6 cloves chopped garlic
3 lbs fresh tomatoes ,chopped
                                  1large handful of fresh basil,and the same of flat leaf parsley



Heat the oil over a medium heat,add the onion and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes,then add the tomatoes and herbs. Stir and cover,leave to cook for 10 minutes,or until the tomatoes have broken down. Puree (I love using a hand held immersion blender for this) leaving the sauce still with some chunks in it,and then turn the heat up to medium high and cook -uncovered for about 20 minutes....it should reduce down to about 1/2 of its original content. Season.

This sauce could be used as base for any other pasta sauce you fancy...try adding other veggies,bacon,cheese......

So now for the star of the show,the broccoli balls, no photos to show you due to a failure on my cameras past ....which is a shame as the vivid green of the broccoli is great.....

1 head,including the stalk of broccoli,chopped
 1/2 onion,chopped
1 tbsp  olive oil
 1 lightly beaten egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 400 and lightly greaser a baking sheet. Combine the broccoli,onion,garlic and oil in a food processor or blender ,and pulse until very finely chopped.Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the egg,breadcrumbs,cheese and seasoning. Mix well. Form the mixture into golf ball size balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes,turning once to ensure they are evenly cooked- they are quite delicate little things so watch how you turn them.....
To serve,cook some spaghetti,add your tomato sauce and top with the broccoli balls and some extras grated Parmesan.

  So there you have it....we didn't miss the meat in our "meatballs" even The Teenager ate them up with out a word...well no real change there...