Guest Post: An Omnivore’s Quest for the Best Vegetarian “Meatball”

Please welcome my friend & amazing home (& Instagram) chef, Chris. He decided to do the dirty work for us in finding the best veg meatball in all of the land. Welcome, Chris!

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I love meatballs.

I love vegetables too, and eat lots of them, but I’m a pretty committed omnivore. And I reserve a special place in hell for the commercial vegetarian burgers and meatballs that attempt to duplicate the taste of meat – usually with a list of unpronounceable chemicals. Why bother, when vegetables taste so great? Now if a veggie meatball can taste great without loading up on artificial flavorings, and come close to the texture and, well, meatballness of a real meatball, then we’re talking.

A friend alerted me to a wonderful blog post by Sarah Grey on the Serious Eats website. The post, Friday Night Meatballs: How to Change Your Life With Pasta describes her 9-month experiment with “Friday Night Meatballs” in which her family extends an open invitation to friends, relatives, social media contacts, and whoever to come by every Friday night for a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. It is a simple yet powerful idea; have company for a sit-down meal once a week, where those from all areas of your life meet and break bread, and take a regular break from your busy life and social isolation.

To keep it simple week after week, you need to serve something that (a) is easy to prepare in large quantity ahead of time, (b) you can specialize in and do well, and (c) almost everyone likes. Meatballs with pasta fits these requirements very nicely.

So my wife and I, with the cooperation and help from a few good friends, decided we wanted to try this. I’m hoping it changes our lives, just a bit.

This leaves a small but important dilemma. While I cook meatballs very well, a significant fraction of my friends are vegetarian, lactose-intolerant, and/or celiac. And both of my recipes feature copious amounts of meat, cheese and bread.

My turkey/spinach meatballs.
Needed an ironic photo for a vegetarian blog.

Hence, my search for the ultimate vegetarian meatball recipe.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

It was a dark & stormy night and I was craving comfort food. I found a great shepherd's pie recipe from Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen and went to work. This recipe makes about three ramekins worth of this hearty and filling dish. The original recipe called for mushrooms - which I was totally out of - so I omitted them, but I do think they'd be an amazing addition. Whatever you do with it, I'm sure it'll be delicious.

Slow Cooker Lentil Tacos

I went to the beach with a group of 15 friends this weekend and I offered to cook dinner for everyone. The main conundrum was that I wanted a meal that could feed everyone (meat-eaters and vegetarians alike) and that wouldn't require me to sit inside and cook all day while everyone else was lounging in the sun. Enter: the slow-cooker. Tacos also allow for everyone to customize their meal. I made a ton of lentils for this (I had to use a 6-qt slow cooker), but half (or even quarter) the below recipe for a smaller yield. This recipe is based off of the great one over at Kitchen Belle.

Guest Post: Vegan Lentil Chili

Do you remember my friend, Ben, who made the delicious veggie quesadilla a few weeks ago? He's back with a cozy vegan chili recipe for us!
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It is the holidays, which means it is chilly outside and what better way to combat the cold than with some delicious, hearty chili. Now that I got the obligatory “chilly/chili” joke out of the way I can say that this recipe really was a true delight. I wanted something new and was lucky to stumble across this recipe online. I should note that their recipe calls for quinoa and I am using French lentils because I thought I had some at home and did not feel like returning to the grocery store. Lentils proved to be an excellent substitution. I will be trying it with quinoa in the near future to compare. The recipe you read below is pretty much straight from their website. I just made adjustments to mirror my cooking style.

This does produce a lot of chili, but the great part is that it freezes well. So if you are having a get-together, this will certainly satisfy the masses and be a crowd pleaser. I was able to serve 2 others and still have a plethora leftover, which I divided up into small plastic bowls and put into the freezer. Again, I was blown away. Growing up with one of the best chilis (my dad’s) out there, it was hard to believe that another recipe could be as delectable.