Happy New Year everyone! I’m not big on the New Year as a holiday, but I like the idea of a marker in time where you are hopeful about a fresh start and taking a moment to assess priorities, to see where you are in terms of goals and aspirations-where you fell short and where you’ve maintained and grown. This New Year’s we decided to hang out at home and keep it quiet since we had a flurry of guests the week before. I exercised some restraint in my drinking so I could get up and go running in Central Park in the morning. I proudly layered up and got at it. That shock of cold feels good when you challenge it. I’d like to get some pictures of my winter runs up on my Instagram to try to inspire good habits and hold myself accountable to keep going.
This bowl of goodness is one of the dishes I prefer most these days. It has all the spices and chilis, beans, seeds and herbs to keep me coming back. The deep red makes this dish a stunner too. The meatballs are a combination of beets and chickpeas seasoned with an earthy cumin that emphasizes the nuttiness of the chickpeas. They’re spiced with a jalapeño pepper for heat, ground and whole coriander seeds–drawing inspiration from falafel, and a hit of Spanish smoked paprika. I drizzled it with tahini and cashew cream and served it with mushrooms I had left over from another version of meatballs I’ve been working on and finally nailed. I kept dipping into the bowl and eating these beetballs by the spoonful before I even got them into the oven. The pasta is rotini made out of lentils and packed with nutritional value. It holds up exactly the same as regular semolina pasta and it’s the best alternative I’ve found if you’re going for a non-homemade, gluten-free pasta. Tolerant makes these and it’s the best brand I’ve found so far (not sponsored, just an honest recommendation).
This year I plan to continue to use food as nourishment and to keep digging into the idea of wellness in all of its various aspects. The job is never done and so the journey will always be a learning process, an adventure and an expansion. I’m thankful to have you guys along for the ride!
BEETROOT MEATBALL BOWL W/ TAHINI & CASHEW CREAM (GF+V)
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 cups chickpeas (soaked overnigh and drained) or 1 can of chickpeas, drained
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1/4 tsp coriander seeds (optional)
- 2 tbsp Spanish smoked paprika
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 3 to 4 medium sized beetroots, rinsed and peeled
- 1/2 cup(ish) cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup rolled oats
- 1 flax egg*
- mine.)
- tahini to serve
- 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups your choice of pasta
*For the flax egg combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds (flax meal with 2 1/2 tablespoons of water and let sit for five minutes. Use the mixture in place of an egg.
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grate beetroot in a food processor or high-speed blender. Remove and move to bowl. Pulse chickpeas in food processor or high-speed blender until they form a rough paste. In a large bowl, mix together grated beetroot, chickpeas, cumin, coriander, paprika, jalapeño, cilantro, oats, and flax egg. Season well and mix until combined.
Form into 12 small balls, each one should be about 2-3 tablespoons full.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil. Add the pasta. Drain and put into a large bowl. Add the mushrooms.
Remove the beetballs from the oven and serve over the pasta. Drizzle with tahini and/or cashew sour cream as desired and sprinkle with cilantro leaves. Enjoy!
I love your sensible approach to food, to cooking and eating…but never without pleasure. A stunning dish!
Thank you, Chica! Happy new year! I try to make it full of flavor.
Flax seed egg- never heard of that use before. Good idea and thanks for sharing.
I also use chia seeds as a binder. That ratio is 1 tbs chia seeds (ground or whole) to 3 tbs water. It’s a good way to keep things plant based. Thanks for commenting!
Very creative and sounds delicious. How did you keep your hands from turning red. I usually use gloves and that helps a bit.
Happy New Year Amanda
Thanks, jovina! Happy new year! My hands turned red, but it comes off. I like the scary look of the red hands. 😉
Happy New Year, Amanda! You seem to be experimenting a lot in your kitchen these days; mushroom balls sounds fabulous, I’d love to seem them here some day! These beetballs sound great, especially with all those yummy spices and tahini sauce on top. I’d love these simply wrapped in salad with crunchy veggies (that’s how I served falafel the other day for Sofia and our boyfriends) or as a pita sandwich, but the idea of a whole meal with pasta sounds great as well (still looking for lentil pasta that doesn’t turn to a gooey mush here in France; no luck so far 🙁 )
Happy New Year, Darya! I have been experimenting because I’ve opened up this whole new area of eating and it’s been so amazing. I’m aiming to have those mushroom meatballs up soon. They’re fab. Oh you made falafel for sofia and the guys?!! Jealous! This brand of pasta is the only brand I’ve tried that doesn’t do that….they make a black bean one that isn’t as good, but this lentil is my new every day pasta, it’s almost unbelievable. Have a great weekend! xoxo
They sound very very good! You will live forever – like the characters in Jitterbug Perfume. Wishing you a Happy New Year, long life and prosperity 🙂
Awww thank you Mad Dog. I wish the very very same to you. I love your references 🙂 Incidentally, I just got the book “How Not to Die” from the library and it’s all about food science and how to prevent all of these chronic lifestyle illnesses just by your food choices. I love it. I’m sharing some of that knowledge here. All the best to you in the New Year, happiness, health and adventure. xo
Thanks Amanda – I’ll have to look that book up 🙂
happy 2017!
i am so impressed that you are committed to the running and digging in deeper to the concept that food is nourishment. i’ve been lax and a little uninspired of late, year end lethargy that has not dissipated since the new year rolled in. here’s delicious balls of food, i’m hoping to make use of some dried chickpeas we have in the pantry, this recipe came at a most fortuitous time.
Thanks, Lan. Happy New Year to you too! Your posts and comments really resonate with me. I think I’m naturally lethargic in the winter….and the summer. Honestly, all I really want to do is sleep. The fact that you go back and forth with races and clean eating is probably the most natural state. I’m pushing myself to stay the course against my natural will. If I weren’t challenging myself with these races and sticking to a workout schedule I would sit and watch Law & Order all day. I can’t help but be transformed by some of the food as medicine stuff I’ve been reading, which motivates me. These beet balls are actually really good so if you’re looking to add those chickpeas in, I’d definitely give these a shot. Sometimes I smush them into patties and eat them as burgers. All the best to you guys this year. xoxo
Great and inspirational dish as always! I love the color of these beetroot meatballs! I have been experimenting with falafel the past week (never made it before last week, and I love it!). Adding beetroot sounds like a great idea. Good job going running on New Years Day! I have been overindulging the past week, and need to get back on track, especially with yoga! Good luck with the training!
Thank you, Jenny! So funny you were making falafel. We are usually on the same page with cooking. You would like these and they do make for a beautiful presentation. While I’m proud of the running ive fallen behind on the Headspace meditation app. Perfectly imperfect. You’ll get back to yoga and your habits now that the fanfare has passed. Happy new year!! Xo
I’m totally intrigued by these beet meatballs, Amanda! I make baked falafel and am excited to try your variation with beets and extra spice. I feel like we overindulged in meat dishes over the holidays and want to focus on more plant based protein for awhile. We have a really tasty, fresh gluten free pasta here (it doesn’t contain any rice or corn but rather teff and other nutritional flours) so it will be a great treat to top with beetballs!
Oh you are speaking my language now! Falafel baked and gf pasta in all its forms… Yes. You’ll like these. I’ve been really trying all sorts of plant based dishes and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s more of an expansion rather than a restriction. I feel like the whole world is open to me now. Stay warm!
With all the workout and healthy cooking, staying fit & healthy will be the easiest thing for you, Amanda. You know, I´m not much of a meatless/vegan/gluten free cook, but I love your approach and solutions to avoiding certain ingredients. Those “meatballs” look so good!!
Thanks, Sabine. All this healthy, meatless, gluten free stuff is newer to me, but it’s become an important evolution in learning. You know I love marrow and rabbit and duck etc, but for now this and running feels right. Most importantly it has to taste good. And anyone could like these. Tomorrow I’m making my brother my favorite chili. He claims he couldn’t possibly like it without meat or turkey, but he doesn’t know what’s coming! All the best to you always. Xo
I bet he´ll be blown away!
Yum yum yum!!! Love it all!
Thanks Elaine! Happy happy new year to you!
And you 🙂
Hey we’re happy to be along for the ride!!
Beets are so much fun to play with, never thought about making meatballs out,that’s a pretty neat idea!
As for keeping it lowkey during the holidays, I totally feel you.
I was actually in your city for the holidays, in Midtown, but I did the entire opposite.
We threw a Masquerade Party on NYE and it was one for the books if I do say so myself haha!
Thanks, Dana!!! You’re so kind. I’m glad you had an off the hook party on new years. Last year we were on times square but this year, I wanted to just be calm. Masquerade party sounds amazing. Im grateful to be in touch with you on your blog and mine. Happy new year to you. Xo
Thank you so much for this detailed post! Looks too beautiful, hope I can pull it off!
Thanks for your comment! You can totally do these!! Enjoy!
I never would have thought to make beet meatballs and yes, you are right…stunning.
Thanks so much Karen. They really are keepers. I just spent the day cleaning my fridge. I’m horrified.
😀
Chica was right. These are stunning! Never would have thought to include beets in a meatball but now I’d love to give them a try. I’m imagining making the meatballs smaller and serving them as appetizers. Talk about show stoppers!
I hope 2017 is being kind to you and yours, Amanda/
Thank you, John. These would make great appetizers. They’re spicy and full of flavor. I hope 2017 is kind to you as well. Things here are going well. I do want to go on a vacation. Maybe a winter wonderland getaway next month. 😉 be well! Xo
I can and can’t believe how darn good these sound. I’ve never heard of beetroot meatballs but I really need to try these at home. I’m not on a diet, but am definitely focusing more on healthy habits. Eating more veggies and less carbs is a conscious effort and this recipe makes it look easy 😉
Thank you, Gabriella. That’s exactly right! It is a conscious effort and it requires you to be a little inventive. These are great. I like to add caramelized onions to really put them over the top! Have a great day!