Broccoli Balls

We’ve gone vegetarian for a week at our house and Broccoli Balls is on the menu.

Thinking back, I don’t know why meat has been such a large focus of the evening meal. It’s expensive, it’s often a little plain without creating something delicious to go with it or on it (mostly vegetable based anyway) and frankly I was beginning really not care for it too much.

In war years meat was rationed in the UK, along with tea, sugar and dairy. During WW2, weekly rations allowed for 113 grams of bacon/ham and 1shilling 2d of meat which purchased approx 540 grams. With less than 100 grams of meat per day, they weren’t over-consuming by any means. Vegetables were king.  Everyone was encouraged to supplement their rations by growing vegetables in community allotments.

Then, along came ‘meat and three vege’ which I recall on my plate growing up in the 1970s. The veges were seldom salad leaves or anything remotely exotic. They were mainly root vegetables boiled until they were lifeless and somewhat colourless too!

This made for a real mind-shift. If I was going to serve up vegetarian meals for a week, I needed a menu. I needed a menu so I could be organised and not serve up the same vegetable meal night after night! How big would my repertoire need to be?!

So what did I do? I was inspired by the vege patch in the back yard for starters, then to the freezer for out of season veges to see me through…then to the supermarket for some inspiration too!

Broccoli season. Did you know that over 2,500 tonnes of broccoli stalks (and leaves) are thrown away by Kiwis every year? Let’s be sensible and not add to those horrendous stats. The stalks have multiple uses. Here’s just one….broccoli balls!

Broccoli Balls

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole almonds
• 2 cups of broccoli florets and stems (peeled) and steamed
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)
• salt & pepper
• canola oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly oil a mini-muffin tin.
2. Place the almonds into a food processor and pulse until roughly ground. Don’t over process it and turn it to almond meal!  Turn out into a mixing bowl.
3. Back at the food processor, pulse the steamed broccoli florets and stems until finely chopped. Mix the broccoli, almonds and other ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Scoop out spoonfuls and form a ball by squeezing it in the palm of your hand. You’ll need to do this to hold it together!  Place each ball into a mini muffin cup. Sprinkle with left-over cheese if you choose!
5. Bake until golden and crispy on top (approx 15-20 mins). Allow to cool slightly then run a knife around the outside of the muffin cup so the balls come away without sticking to the sides.
6. Serve in a wrap with mayo and sweet chilli sauce, or just as a side dish!
7. Enjoy!

[Post Script: it’s 2017 and not only did we survive our ‘vegetarian week’, we’ve been vegetarian (well, pescatarian) for the past 3 years! Our love for homegrown vegetables have grown enormously and the excitement of creating a delicious vegetarian dish never fails to please.]