Sweet-and-Sour Party Meatballs

Great idea for a party, just dress them with fancy skewers/tooth picks and watch them go!

Sweet-and-Sour Party Meatballs  (Chloe’s Kitchen CB)  http://www.chefchloe.com/blog.html

1            8-oz. pkg. tempeh, or 1 cup cooked brown rice (we used Tempeh)

2            tablespoons olive oil

1            onion, finely chopped

2            cloves garlic, minced

1            15-oz. can lentils, rinsed and drained

1            cup walnuts, toasted

1/2         cup all-purpose flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour

1            teaspoon dried basil

1            teaspoon sea salt

1            teaspoon ground black pepper

2            tablespoons canola oil

              Sweet and Sour Sauce (to follow)

Fill a large pot with enough water to reach the bottom of a steamer basket. Using a knife or your hands, break tempeh into 4 pieces and place in the basket. Cover and steam for 20 minutes. Check the pot occasionally and add more water if necessary. Steaming the tempeh will remove its bitterness.

In the meantime, heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and sauté onions until soft and lightly browned. Add garlic and cook a few more minutes. Transfer to a food processor. Reserve skillet for later use.

Add steamed tempeh, lentils, walnuts, flour, basil, salt, and pepper to the onions in the food processor. Pulse until the walnut pieces are very fine and the mixture comes together. If necessary, transfer the mixture to a large bowl and mix with your hands. Adjust seasoning to taste. With the palms of your hands, form the mixture into 1-“ balls.

Heat oil in non stick skillet over medium high heat, and pan fry meatballs in batches, adding more oil as needed.  Rotate the meatballs with a wooden spoon so that they brown on all sides. Remove meatballs from the pan using 2 forks or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Transfer to serving platter and spoon Sweet-and-Sour Sauce on top.

Sweet-and-Sour Sauce:

3/4         cup water

1/2         cup packed brown sugar or maple syrup

1/4         cup white or apple cider vinegar

1/4         cup soy sauce

3            tablespoons ketchup

2            tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot

In a medium saucepan, whisk together water, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup and cornstarch. Heat the sauce over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture has thickened and big syrupy bubbles appear on the surface.