Walnut Meatballs.

January 31st, 2012

These amazing nutballs are baked not fried and hit the right spot with pasta and tomato sauce or on a roll with all the fixings, they would also make a great party snack with a dipping sauce.

Makes about 16.

Method.

Turn on the oven to a high heat (210 degrees Celsius / 410 degrees Fahrenheit).

Finely chop the onion and garlic. Grate the carrot.

In a frypan dry fry the fennel seeds until they darken slightly.

Combine the walnuts, oats and fennel seeds in a food processor and blend until the mixture starts clumping together.

Add a little olive oil to the frypan and gently cook the onion over a medium heat until soft. Add the garlic, mixed herbs and grated carrot and cook for a minute until the carrot has changed colour. Season well with salt and pepper.

Add the flour to the frypan and let it cook off for 30 seconds before adding the walnut mix, stir through. Add the stock, turn the heat to low and keep stirring until the dough is firm. If the dough seems dry not damp then add a tablespoon of water.

Remove mix to a bowl and stir through the breadcrumbs. Leave to sit for a minute until the dough is cool enough to work with. Roll into balls a little smaller than a golf ball.

Spray evenly with a cooking spray or drizzle with enough olive oil to give a good coating. Place on an oven proof baking tray and bake for 25 minutes. Turn them halfway though the baking process.

Serve the nutballs with pasta and tomato sauce, topped with a little cashew cheese for a delicious dinner.

If you have any left over, they store really well in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.