Spaghetti with vegan meatballs

Anastasia

6 years ago

Pretend that you have an Italian grandma.

Man I have a long-term relationships with pasta. Since I was a kid I like my pasta al dente. Long time before I learned this term. But not that I’m kind of a snob. I literally make my pasta sauce with leftovers from the fridge. Just blend everything and top up with nooch. Yeah I’m an awful person.

But this time I’m gonna teach you how to make a real decent pasta. With fake meatballs.

The secret for the best Marinara sauce is simple. Ingredients. In season use only fresh sun ripened tomatoes. Otherwise go for good quality canned ones. Use lots of garlic. Spend a fortune on hight quality extra virgin olive oil. Taste your sauce. Add few drops of aged balsamic vinegar for sweetness if you feel like it’s missing.

The vegan meatballs in this recipe are versatile. They are great both with tomato and creamy sauce. You can double ingredients and freeze them for later. They are easy to make and hold their shape very well.

So first preheat oven to 350 F.

Place walnuts and rolled oats in food processor and pulse couple of times. It shouldn’t be too fine. Transfer to mixing bowl. Then blend bread into small breadcrumbs. Add to the mixing bowl together with the rest of dry ingredients and stir.

Lastly place tofu, soy sauce and vegetable stock into food processor and blitz until smooth. Scoop into dry mixture and stir well.

Form the balls and place them on a backing sheet lined with a parchment paper.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the meatballs and bake for another 10 minutes.

While meatballs are baking cook spaghetti and make Marinara sauce.

Heat a pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add tomatoes and break them with spatula. You can also break them with immersion blender. Season with herbs, salt and pepper.

Cook for 5 minutes and add the meatballs. Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes until sauce is thickened and meatballs are softened.

Serve over spaghetti.

Spaghetti with vegan meatballs

Spaghetti with vegan meatballs in Marinara sauce.

Author: Anastasia
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 2
Category: Main course
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

For meatballs:

5oz firm tofu (half package)
1 thick slice of bread
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup walnuts
1 tbsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
1 pinch of dried oregano
black pepper
1/8 cup vegetable stock
1 tbsp soy sauce

For Marinara sauce:

1 can of whole tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, minced
few pinches each of dried oregano and basil
1 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Place walnuts and rolled oats in food processor and pulse couple of times. It shouldn’t be too fine. Transfer to mixing bowl. Then blend bread into small breadcrumbs. Add to the mixing bowl together with the rest of dry ingredients and stir.
Lastly place tofu, soy sauce and vegetable stock into food processor and blitz until smooth. Scoop into dry mixture and stir well.
Form the balls and place them on a backing sheet lined with a parchment paper.
Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the meatballs and bake for another 10 minutes.
While meatballs are baking cook spaghetti and make Marinara sauce.
Heat a pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add tomatoes and break them with spatula. You can also break them with immersion blender. Season with herbs, salt and pepper.
Cook for 5 minutes and add the meatballs. Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes until sauce is thickened and meatballs are softened.
Serve over spaghetti.