veggie nice

With the holiday season now safely behind us, we find ourselves reflecting on 2012 and eager to forge through to twenty-thirteen.  I know I've personally made resolutions, both public and private, that I'm hoping to accomplish during these next twelve months.  Most of them are completely feasible if I can manage to reach an agreement with my frenemy, willpower. We've had our ups and downs over the years, resulting in this love/hate relationship, but I'm feeling pretty confident that we'll be able to set our differences aside and achieve some great things.

A goal that always weasels its way into most resolutions is the ever-present quest to "eat healthy and work out".  This is magnified during the first month and a half of the new year when people young and old flood to any and all workout facilities and take up your favorite machines. We all know it's going to happen, but it's still a genuine shock when it does.  Just the other day I walked into my gym and couldn't help but laugh at the obscene amount of attendees, bouncing around on cardio machines and lifting too-heavy-for-you weights in an effort to feverishly work off every unwanted calorie from Halloween onward.  Now I'm not saying that striving for a healthy lifestyle is an unwise decision, because it's quite the opposite, but I just don't see the need to come out guns blazing.  Looking around at a room full of hares, I acknowledged the few tortoises who would undoubtedly still be there once the glow of their new neon apparel started to fade.

In an effort to maintain a healthy lifestyle and continue to grow my recipe collection I found myself on pinterest, scrolling through boards upon boards of fresh ideas and recipes to try.  Now pinterest, albeit a fantastic outlet for creativity to flourish, is a procrastinators promise land.  Filled with tips and ideas that never even came close to crossing your mind, it's hard to look away.  That being said I went on with a mission to find a tasty, filling dinner that wouldn't be laden with cheese or cream or any other kind of figure un-friendly food, and low and behold I came across these cannellini bean meatballs that looked too good to pass up.  They were super easy to make and definitely well received, even by my Dad, who's my harshest critic when I make him eat anything healthy.

This recipe doesn't call for any oil or butter, just a little non-stick cooking spray that I was even able to avoid with the help of parchment paper.  The list of ingredients isn't terribly long, either, and with a cook time of 30 minutes it's sure to become an easy weeknight alternative to classic spaghetti and meatballs.  

You're going to start by preheating the oven to 350°, followed by draining and rinsing 1 1/2 (15oz.) cans of cannellini beans.  This is going to be your "meat" (I used a little more of everything since I wanted to stretch out the recipe. Don't be afraid to tweak it while you're working, cooking doesn't require the precision that baking does for you to get amazing results). To the beans you're going to add 1 roasted red pepper, roughly chopped. 

Add these two ingredients into a food processor and pulse until chopped.  You don't want to puree them or they won't retain enough body to hold together (without adding a ton of breadcrumb).

My food processor is pretty small so I had to do this in two batches, which worked perfectly.  Transfer the "meat" into a medium sized bowl and get ready to add in all remaining ingredients.

Italian parsley, grated yellow onion, oregano, minced garlic, one egg, breadcrumb and salt & pepper are all these veggie meatballs need before they're mixed up and ready for rolling.  Feel free to add more breadcrumb if you're feeling like the consistency isn't quite thick enough for you, although remember that they obviously won't be as firm as regular meatballs.

They go into the oven for 15-20 minutes (I went for a bit over 20) or until they're firm to the touch and golden brown.  In the meantime you're going to heat up your sauce--mine was a mixture of Tomato Basil and Spicy Red Pepper--and boil your pasta water.  Not being a huge pasta fan I don't usually choose to eat it, but something about angel hair never disappoints.

I also took this time to chiffonade some fresh basil for garnish
because, well, who doesn't love fresh basil?

When the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce for about 10 minutes and let it thicken up.  Be very careful with this step as they are prone to squishing.  I personally don't think you even need to do this if you just let them cook for a bit longer in the oven.

Plate up the pasta followed by the meatballs and (as you can see) generously spoon on the sauce.  And there you have it! Meatless meatballs that will give your regular ones a run for their money.  Feel free to add some fresh Parmesan cheese for garnish, or if you like some heat like me you can toss in some red pepper flakes.

Enjoy!

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