First let me say, until you try it don’t mock it. I never heard of a meatless meatball, much less from an Italian, but alas, my husband told me his mother makes them with breadcrumbs. I guess this was when she was growing up as an Italian immigrant here and like most didn’t always have the luxury of having meat around. The Italian word for meatball is polpetti, but I heard it as “perpeti” which means meatball but can mean with or without meat.
Since my husband and I prefer not to eat beef regularly for health reasons, this was a dish I definately wanted to try. I made these for the first time last night and my husband tried them and was so amazed at how well they turned out he called his mother that night and told her about the way I prepared them which was slightly different than her version. Needless to say, I think I hit on something.
I have recently fallen in love with Bulgar, which is my not so secret “secret” ingredient. Yes “Bulgar” sounds hideous and terrible but it is a great grain that tastes great and is quick and easy to prepare. You can get it at any supermarket or order it online. I made the recipe according to how it was told to me by my mother in law, however reduced the bread crumbs a little and added in about 1/3 cup of cooked Bulgar which was in the fridge already made. Once I mixed all the ingredients (romano cheese, 1 egg, chopped garlic and parsley) and formed them into balls. I fried them lightly for 3 minutes in a frying pan with a very little amount of oil, then transferred them to a baking pan and baked them for 30 minutes at 360. Why 360 you ask? I thought 350 would be too low and 375 too high and I lucked out.
I served the meatballs in a bowl with some pasta sauce on the side. Don’t cook the meatballs with the sauce because the breadcrumbs will soak up the sauce. Do not expect these to taste just like regular greasy meatballs. They won’t. They will taste like breaded meatballs and are not meant to fool your friends, although I’m sure many people wouldn’t think twice about it. I would try it on your kids without telling them, just say you added some breadcrumbs. The Bulgar gives it a meat-like texture. That’s why the Bulgar is so important in this recipe. It “beefs” it up so to speak. My mother in law does it with breadcrumbs only or with a little meat, but not much. So you can fix it how you want.
Do not let resistance from family members be an issue. Do what I did when I asked my parents (who live close by) to try them. I just said, “Here try these.” No lead in question like, “Would you like to try these?” because if they aren’t in the frame of mind to eat, they have an out by saying “No”. So they ate them and liked them and were quite impressed with the taste and texture of the meatless meatballs. In fact, I don’t remember if I ever told my dad they included “bulgar”… he he he he….
There are so many variations to this dish, I’m excited to make them again. I bet you could take this dish and use it for stuffed peppers or stuffed cabbage leaves too… hmmm another recipe I can do! Get the recipe for meatless meatballs here and you can make them yourself. Remember, omit the egg for a truly vegan version and enjoy!
Liz
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