Vegetarian Week: No Meat Meatballs from Merchant Gourmet

Its Vegetarian Week so every day this week we're sharing our most loved recipes from famous Chefs who are passionate about Vegetarian food with you so you can recreate them at home. Today we have this amazeballs No Meat Chestnut Meatballs recipe from Alex Mackay of Merchant Gourmet

No Meat Chestnut “Meatballs” with Garlic, Parsley and Tomato Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 200g pouch of Merchant Gourmet Chestnut Puree

• 1 large onion, peeled & finely chopped

• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes with their juice

• 100g breadcrumbs

• 250g Merchant Gourmet Ready to Eat Puy lentils

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

• 4 tbsp sliced parsley, plus 2 tbsp to finish

• 1 egg yolk

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• A little flour for dusting your hands

• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Start with the tomato sauce. Get a large shallow pan. Add the onions and olive oil. Sweat for 6-7 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the tinned tomato and water. Simmer gently while you make the chestnut balls.

2. Get a large bowl. Add the chestnut puree, breadcrumbs, cooked lentils, chopped garlic, 4 tbsp sliced parsley and the egg yolk. Season to taste. Squeeze the mixture. Roll it into 28 balls.

3. Add the chestnut balls to the simmering sauce in a single layer. Brush each one with the sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes, repeating the brushing 3 times. Sprinkle the remaining parsley over the top.

4. Serve with pasta or bread.

N.B. Merchant Gourmet Chestnut Puree, RRP £1.29, Available at ASDA, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Coop and Merchant Gourmet Ready to Eat Puy Lentils, RRP £1.99, Available in all major retailers

Recipe by Alex Mackay of Merchant Gourmet

About Merchant Gourmet

Think of speciality ingredients and you think of Merchant Gourmet. The brand was launched in 1994 inspired by the nation’s growing appetite for discovering new and exciting, good quality cooks’ ingredients. Merchant Gourmet was instrumental in bringing ingredients such as dried porcini mushrooms, cooked and peeled chestnuts and sun dried tomatoes to the masses.

Since then Merchant Gourmet has been keeping a close eye on both food and lifestyle trends, which has resulted in evolving and branching out into convenient products which fit into our increasingly busy lifestyles. Through our innovative range, we enable consumers to create gourmet quality meals in a fraction of the time, without compromising on quality or flavour.

They are committed to continuing to make pulses and grains more exciting and accessible by growing the market and developing clean, tasty, ready to eat products for our healthy living and food loving nation.

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