Ingredients
- 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes with their juice
- 400ml vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp ground flax seed/linseed (they are the same thing)
- 3 tbsp hot water
- 1 x 250g pouch Merchant Gourmet Simply Cooked Puy Lentils
- 200g Merchant Gourmet Chestnut Puree
- 120g fresh breadcrumbs
- 4 tbsp sliced parsley
- Salt, sugar, freshly ground black pepper and smoked paprika
Instructions
- Start with the tomato sauce. Sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 6-7 minutes until it is soft. Add the tinned tomato and stock. Bring to the boil. Take the pan off the heat. Season lightly with salt, sugar, black pepper and smoked paprika.
- Put the ground flax seed into a little bowl. Add 3 tbsp of hot water, leave to sit until to you need it, the mixture will become jelly like/gloopy.
- In a large bowl, mash up the Puy lentils, not to puree them, just enough so you can see their insides. Add the chestnut puree, breadcrumbs, sliced parsley and the flaxseed mixture. If the mixture is a little wet, add more breadcrumbs. Season to taste, I like these to be quite smoky/spicy with smoked paprika. Separate the mixture into 28 even sized pieces. Roll them into balls between your palms.
- Add the lentil and chestnut balls to the sauce in a single layer. Brush the balls with the sauce. Cover the pan but leave the lid slightly ajar. Simmer very gently for 20 minutes, removing the lid after 10 and brushing the balls 3 times. Add more stock if the sauce starts to dry out. Serve straight from the pan.
Good to know!
These are good served with pasta, freekeh, quinoa or bread. If you don’t have a pan that is big enough, bake the balls in an oven at 190c for 20 minutes.
