Lentil and Ricotta "Meatballs"

That's right.  These are meatless balls.

They taste light and rich; fluffy and satisfying.  This is such a keeper of a recipe.  They take a notable amount of prep work, though.  Just sayin', I warned y'all.  Make parts of this in advance.

In Jennie's Kitchen is a cool blog with loads of interlinked recipes and cross-referencing - in this post, I have put together three of her recipes into one spot.  Let me know if that's okay, Jennie.  The links I've given are all worth following, as she has loads of other recipes mingled into these ones: homemade ricotta, vegetable stock, and loads more.

With recipes from now on I'd like to take a page out of Food Network's book and add in prep times, so you know from the start what you're getting into.  Still working out the kinks and the preferences in all the formatting here!

Lentil and Ricotta Meatballs, in three parts

Active Prep Time: 60-90 minutes
Total Time: 5-6 hours (this includes two 2-hour chilling periods)

The first thing you need to do is make the lentils - with a while afterwards to let them cool.  Dear BF had the day off and made these in advance.  He cooked them plain and added the garlic and shallot afterwards... and they turned out just fine!

Then you cook up the meatballs, and the marinara sauce, and serve them all with pasta.

ingredients:

for the lentils

1 cup uncooked lentils (puy are recommended but we used red instead)
3 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 shallot, sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

for the meatballs

2 cups cooked lentils, pureed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup fresh ricotta
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Canola oil for frying
Marinara sauce, optional (see below)

for the marinara

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
1 can peeled tomatoes
Handful of fresh basil leaves
1 pinch sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

directions:

for the lentils

Add all ingredients to a 2-quart pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Let sit, covered, for 10 minutes to absorb any remaining liquid.

Cool at least 2 hours, or overnight, in preparation for meatballs.

for the meatballs

Add all ingredients to a deep bowl. Mix completely with your hands or a spoon. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or as long as overnight.

At cooking time, shape the mix into 1 1/2-inch balls. Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Add the balls and cook until browned, only turning once.  Transfer to a paper-toweled plate to drain.  Add to marinara sauce and serve over pasta immediately, or store in a covered container for up to 3 days.

for the marinara sauce

Crush the tomatoes with your hands into a large bowl.  Keep the liquid from the can.

Heat olive oil in a deep pot.  Add garlic and cook until golden.  Add the crushed tomatoes, plus any remaining liquid from the can, and stir.  Tear the basil into pieces and add to the pot.  Add the sugar and season with salt & pepper.

Simmer for 20 minutes.  Kaboom.

This will keep in the fridge for a week, or in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Last step: Put it all together, whaddaya got?!

Cook up some pasta.  Stir meatballs into marinara and ladle it onto the pasta.

Look at the fluffy insides... totally irresistible.