The best recipes are both tasty and healthy. You enjoy each bite with no guilt feeling whatsoever and go for a second serving without blinking an eye. These balls are nutritious flavour bombs. Plant-based, gluten-free, packing with proteins and flavour. I personally like the sauce nice and spicy (including the sweat drops on your moustache and eyebrows 😉 ), but no worries; this recipe is quite mild and you can adjust the spiciness to your liking. For some variation, add black kalamata olives to the sauce. Enjoy this dish with a bit of garlic bread.

Quinoa balls
150 gr quinoa
1 cube vegetable stock
265 gr black beans, drained
1 onion
A big handful of basil leaves, plus some for garnish
2 tablespoons quinoa flour (or another type)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce
1 garlic clove
1 chili pepper
1 can diced tomato
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Cook the quinoa according to the instructions with the cube of vegetable stock. Leave to completely cool.
  2. Peel and finely chop the onion.
  3. Roughly chop the basil leaves.
  4. Heat a bit of oil in a pan and fry the onion until soft and translucent. Remove from the heat.
  5. Combine the quinoa, beans, onion, basil and quinoa flour in a food processor and mix briefly until combined. Don’t mix too much to keep the beans rough.
  6. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
  7. Rol the mixture into balls.
  8. To make the sauce, peel and finely chop the garlic.
  9. Finely chop the chili and discard the stem and seeds.
  10. Heat a dash of oil in a pan and fry the garlic and chili 2-3 minutes on medium heat.
  11. Add the tomato and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Keep to cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.
  12. In another pan, heat some oil and fry the balls golden brown. Turn them carefully.
  13. As soon as the balls are done, pour the sauce in a warmed up dish and place the balls on top. Garnish with some basil leaves.