Don’t be alarmed by the appearance of these little lentil balls, they’re actually a lot more delicious than they look. The lentils, almond meal and egg combine to create a wonderfully satisfying ball texture.
I’ve also used almond meal in actual meat balls instead of bread crumbs and was really happy with the results. If you need to feed some carnivores, soften a chopped onion and combine it with about 300g (10oz) minced (ground) beef and 75g almond meal. Shape into balls and bake in tomato passata as per the lentil ball recipe.
I like to serve these simply in a bowl with parmsean on top and a green salad on the side. Feel free to serve tossed in with pasta, or zucchini noodles.
Lentil Balls with Tomato Sauce
Servings 2 people
Ingredients
- 1 can lentils 400g/14oz, drained
- 75 g almond meal (almond flour)
- 1 egg
- 1 jar tomato passata tomato puree (700g/24oz)
- parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C (400F).
- Roughly mash lentils in a large bowl with a fork, then add almond meal and the egg. Mix and season.
- Place tomato passata in the base of a large oven proof dish. Using a soup spoon, form the lentil mixture into small balls. Placing them in the sauce as you go.
- Drizzle very generously with extra virgin olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes or until balls are firm and the sauce has reduced a little.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I made these for a vegetarian friend filled the recipe but added some mingle herb and garlic seasoning to the lentil mix. I had some cauliflower I needed to use so cut into bite size pieces and put in the sauce with the balls. It was a hit.
Brilliant Rachel!
Did you cook the cauli first?
No just cut small pieces, it browned up and was delicious
Brilliant!
I just went on the instructions in the recipe, not the video, and formed my lentil balls with a fork and the soup spoon instead of using my hands, so they came out a bit loose. They were also a little bland, without any seasoning in the balls themselves. A bit of Parmesan in the mix would probably help both. More filling than I expected.
Yes they’re a bit fragile Mark – if I was doing them now I think the parmesan would be an excellent idea.
I’m afraid the tomato puree will taste raw and uncooked–not like a sauce. Is the oven baking enough to transform it?
Totally Kathryn!
Because of the large surface area of the roasting pan you get quite a bit of concentration very quickly 🙂