Ingredients To Chop:

Half of a small red onion (finely diced)

A packet of parsley

A packet of chives

Ingredients To Blend:

1 cup of walnuts

1/2 cup of soaked cashews (literally soak cashews in water for at least 1 hour)

120 g of chestnuts

1 tsp of nutmeg, cumin, & cayenne pepper

Dash of salt and pepper

Other Ingredients:

Less than 1/3 cup of tomato ketchup (Hillfield is organic and sugar free)

1/4 plant-based mylk of choice

1 tbsp tahini (homemade tahini is recommended)

1 tbsp Dijon mustard (any organic brand)

3 tbsp chickpea flour (any GF flour would work)

Pre-heat the oven at a high temperature.

Start by finely chopping the aforementioned ingredients and note that you can opt for whatever herbs you prefer in your meatballs.

Once you’re done, place the chopped ingredients into a bowl before blending the nuts with a dash of salt, pepper, and spices. I used a food processor so highly recommend the same and also recommend the pictured brand for chestnuts. For readers not in Malaysia, ensure the chestnuts are peeled and moist.

Then, add the ‘other ingredients’ into the bowl containing the chopped and blended ingredients. Mix together using a spoon or spatula. The mixture should be slightly wet and sticky, unlike the original batch which is pictured above. Of course, you can adjust the texture according to the consistency and taste that you prefer. Before becoming vegan, I preferred meatballs medium rare hence why I wanted a slightly wet and sticky consistency this batch around.

Create balls of any size using the mixture then place the meatballs on the baking paper (which is atop a baking tray, duh). Bake your magical creation in the oven at 180 Celsius (sorry Americans but Malaysia was colonised) for around 30 minutes. The final texture should be firm so not squishy to the touch and the meatballs should look golden, not burned.

Alternatively, you can deep-fry the meatballs in vegetable oil at high heat. I deep-fried four meatballs but found the inside too ‘rare’ although the flavours still popped.

When I originally made the first batch of meatballs, I made a cheeseburger-cum-sandwich. Using GF bread lined with tomato ketchup and lettuce, I was flabbergasted at how it tasted (almost) like a Maccas cheeseburger. So, with this batch I decided to attempt another cheeseburger but also (vegan + GF) spaghetti Bolognese.

Y’all… That spaghetti Bolognese was a definite winner so in my opinion, do yourself a favour and use this recipe alongside a Bologense recipe. The texture of the vegan meatballs really mimic actual meatballs when paired with spaghetti Bolognese + the flavours just complement the tomato sauce. To be fair, though, it was a seriously nostalgic meal for me as I haven’t had spaghetti Bolognese with meatballs since becoming vegan.

Anyway, there you have it: a vegan and gluten-free meatballs recipe! How do you plan to eat these meatballs? Tag @raisareviews and show me!