I have been wanting to make a vegetarian "meatball" recently because I thought it would be a painless way to add more pulses to L.'s diet. He likes them well enough but not in as much quantity as I would like in terms of nutritional return. I will never try to pass black beans off in brownies as was the fashion a few months ago but "meatballs" made of cannellini beans are within the realms of what I consider the parameters of a mother playing fair.
Every single recipe that I looked up either wanted me to fry the balls or douse them in marinara sauce which was not what I was in the mood for. I have attached a link to the recipe that made me decide to add mushrooms to my cannellini mixture (and next time I will omit them as I did not feel they added much) but, as you will see, I went in a slightly more pared down direction.
These "meatballs" would taste delicious on a lightly toasted baguette or proper sub bun but, since L. requested (AKA begged because it is Spring break and all bets are off in terms of our regular schedule) that he eat this dinner while participating in a online game tournament with his friends scheduled at dinner time, I planned on stuffing these in pita pockets in order to keep leakage on computer keyboards and the ensuing pre-teen meltdowns and parental shrieking to a minimum. Unfortunately, I grabbed whole grain flatbreads at the store rather than pita pockets hence the slightly odd looking sandwiches in the photo above.
Despite my mistake, these made a great sandwich even as an open-faced one; crunchy on the outside, creamy and full of flavor on the inside. I also felt quite virtuous eating them which is always nice. These would make a great canapé, formed into bite-sized balls and spiked on toothpicks; either served alone or with a dipping sauce - maybe even the marinara idea from the original recipe though my thoughts are leaning more towards a yogurt-tahini sauce, thinned with lemon juice.
Recipe
2 cans cannellini beans
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic,finely chopped + 1 whole clove, peeled and crushed
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup button mushrooms, diced finely
1/2 cup + 1/4 cup panko
1 lb greens (I used spinach but both kale and Swiss chard would be good)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp crushed pink pepper
Salt to taste
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic, shallot and the diced mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are cooked and the garlic and shallots are soft, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside and keep the pan for use .
Put the cannellini beans in a bowl and mash lightly with a fork. You want a chunky result, not a paste. Once that is done, add the parsley, the lemon zest, 1/2 cup of the panko, the fennel seed, the pink pepper and a bit more salt than you think that you need (beans need a little extra). Add the mushroom mixture (leaving any liquid behind in the pan) and mix well. Refrigerate for about an hour so that the flavors can marry and the panko can absorb any residual liquid.
After an hour or so, preheat the oven to 375.
Shape the mixture into 16 balls. Roll each ball in the remaining 1/4 cup of panko for a light coating. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for an hour, turning 1/2 way through.
About 5 minutes before the cannellini balls are ready, add the crushed garlic clove to the mushroom juices remaining in the pan and heat over medium heat until bubbling. If you do not have enough juices, add about a tablespoon of water to the pan. As soon as the liquid bubbles (which should be when there are just a couple of minutes left on the cannellini bean cooking time), place the pitas or sub buns in the oven to warm. Add the greens to the bubbling liquid and heat just until they are wilted.
To assemble place 1/8 of the greens, having removed the garlic clove first) and 2 "meatballs" in each 1/2 pita. L. requested chopped olives on his and I doused my sandwich liberally with Sriracha syrup.
Original recipe, here.