Lentil and rosemary balls

I'm a typical brit in that I do love a good English roast. Heaps of veggies, roast potatoes and gravy...and today with lentil balls!

I thought I'd put a bit of a spin on my old faithful nut roast and go for balls over a loaf, plus some some fresh rosemary thrown in as I seem to have a thing for rosemary at the moment. These little balls did not dissapoint! I also added some extra polenta to coat some of them to give an extra crunchy coating and they were great too, I can't decide which way I prefer them- maybe make a few of each. You could also roll in seeds if you preferred.

You will note in the recipe that the wet to dry relation may need slight adjustment depending on the texture of the lentils, I made this recipe a couple of times and needed to add a few more oats one time but not the other even though I couldn't see that I'd made any other changes. It didn't make a significant affect to the final baked product as far as I could tell, you simply need to achieve a consistency that is just stiff enough to from balls that will hold their shape.

These balls are so versatile, you could use them to top a salad, or in pace of 'meat' balls in a sub roll or wrap.... how would you use them?

Recipe: Lentil and rosemary balls

Ingredients:

 

1/2-2 cups oats (depending on consistency of mixture)
1 large onion- chopped finely
2 carrots- grated
1/2 cup squash or sweet potato cut into small cubes (I used squash)
3 tbs tomato puree
3 cloves garlic
1 cup dry red lentils*
1/2 green lentils- precooked
300ml vegetable stock (omit most of this if red lentils are precooked and just add as needed)*
1/2 cup gram flour (you could probably use other flours thoigh I haven't tried)
1/2 polenta (I used the quick cook variety)
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed herbs
2 tbs fresh rosemary

Method:

Cook red lentils and squash in 300ml stock for approx 15 minutes until  cooked and the lentils are mushy. Add remaining wet ingredients and coconut oil and mix through evenly.

Add the gram flour, polenta and one cup of oats and mix through, adding extra oats as necessary to achieve a soft but stiff mixture that could be formed into balls. Mix through the herbs last.

Using your fingers form into apricot sized balls and place on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 mins until golden on the outside.

Optional note: roll in extra polenta prior to baking for extra crunch.

 

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.