Ingredients

Serves 4-6

4 medium onions
¼ white cabbage
1 cup grated mozzarella
2 eggs
1 packet enoki mushrooms
1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
½ cup bread crumbs
1 cup baby spinach
Salt & pepper
Fresh herbs such as oregano, thyme, mint, rocket, basil
2 cups cashews
1 cup walnut
A little tomato sauce
 
To serve:
1 jar tomato passata
1 onion
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt/pepper and herbs to season

Method

To make the vegetarian meatballs, blend everything except the bread crumbs in a food processor. If you like them a bit chunky, leave the nuts out until the last minute. Upend the mixture into a large bowl and using your hands, mix through the bread crumbs. Season with salt. Don't be tempted to add in any kooky vegetarian ingredients that wouldn't exist in normal meatballs - e.g. ginger!  These taste meaty because they're exactly like a good meatball. Without meat!  Woot!

Shape the mixture into balls about the size of an eyeball.

Lay out on baking tray lined with baking paper.  Brush with tomato sauce. This adds a sweet glossy meatiness to the meatballs that will have your vegetarian friends double-checking that these really are meat-free. And will therefore make you seem a little bit more legendary!

Bake for 40 minutes at 180°C. 

Serve as is or with a really good tomato Napoli sauce. They freeze and last a while in the fridge, and they don't make you fart. (Some meatballs give you a rotten digestion!)

To make sauce, fry onion for a few minutes until clear. Add jar of tomato passata. Season with salt and pepper and herbs of choice, e.g. basil. Cook until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.

Note: If you can eat egg but not dairy, this recipe will totally work without the mozzarella cheese.

Other optional inclusions:
Half cup ricotta
1 cup rocket leaves
Roasted garlic (I never add garlic because I feel it's overused in Australian cooking.  And also, doing The Circle 5 days a week I am conscious of smelly breath when the poor make-up girls have to lean into my face every day!)