I created these recipes out of stuff I already had in the freezer, cupboards and spice rack, so its easy to knock together and introduces extra vegetables in your diet. It is completely vegan, however, the balls could benefit from the addition of an egg to help them hold together better when frying. I made them into balls but do feel free with changing the shape into something flatter that may hold better during cooking.
Recipe 1: Jerk balls with coleslaw and flatbreads
Ingredients:
317g frozen butternut squash, microwaved until cooked through
2 cans black beans, drained
2 spring onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, grated
100 g walnuts, blitzed into crumbs
2 thyme springs, leaves removed from stalks
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp allspice berries, ground
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Chilli powder, to taste
Juice of 1/2 lime
Flour
Method: Place everything together in a blender and blitz until a rough paste is formed. Shape into small balls and dust with the flour. Fry on all sides until crispy. Set aside. Make the coleslaw to go with the balls.
Ingredients for the Coleslaw:
1/2 white or red cabbage, diced
1 carrot, grated
2 spring onions, diced
Handful of coriander, chopped
Salt
Olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
Flat breads or tortillas, to serve
Lime wedges, to serve
Grilled halloumi (Optional)
Method: Place the chopped cabbage in a large bowl and season with salt. Rub the salt in with your hands and set aside for about 5 minutes. This allows the cabbage to soften a little and allows you to prepare the other vegetables. Grate the carrot and chop the spring onions and coriander. Add them to the cabbage. Season with olive oil and the lime juice, mixing everything together.
Prepare your flatbreads or tortillas as per packed instructions if required. I toasted my flatbreads before serving and grilled some halloumi too.
I set aside half the balls I had friend to use in the recipe below. This made another 4 portions on top of the two portions above. I used the left over cabbage here, as well as some pickled onions and beetroot I had open in the fridge. Feel free to substitute with an onion or other vegetables. Be aware that this would change the cooking time.
Recipe 2: Vegetable Balls in Spicy Jerk Sauce
Ingredients
Any vegetable balls you have left over
A handful of small pickled onions or 1 onion, diced
1 tbsp oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can tomatoes
1 bottle Jerk BBQ sauce (I used the Reggae Reggae brand)
1/2 head of cabbage left over from the coleslaw, diced
4 tbsp jarred beetroot
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 thyme springs, leaves removed from stalks
1/2 tsp allspice berries, ground
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Juice of 1/2 lime
Method
Fry the onions and garlic in the oil on medium heat until they start to soften. Add the cabbage and carry on cooking until this too becomes softer. Add the tomatoes, jerk sauce and the rest of the ingredients apart from the lime juice. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to low. Place the balls carefully in the sauce. Do not stir them in or move them around or they will disintegrate. Cover with a lid and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the balls are warmed through. Turn off the heat and squeeze the lime juice on top.
Serve in bowls with bread or mash.
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