My mom is superhuman. When I was growing up, she would have a fresh meal waiting for my sisters and me when we came home from school every single day. Even on days when she wasn’t home from work on time, she would still get up at 5 am to cook our lunch. You gotta love moms.
One of my favorite dishes was this one. Moroccan meatballs with veggies. There are a few variations to this meal, sometimes she would make peas & potatoes, sometimes peas & celery, and other times peas and fennel. I decided to make this version with peas, fennel, and celery, but if you don’t like fennel/ celery, first of all, you should ask yourself if you are ok, secondly, you can skip the fennel/ celery and just use potatoes, which luckily, are universally loved. My fiance, for example, does not like fennel. Please pray for him.
Mom's Vegan Moroccan Meatballs With Peas & Veggies
Ingredients
- Meatballs
- 2-3 defrosted beyond meat burgers
- 1/2 grated onion
- 1 handful chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt Veggies
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 sliced/ chopped onion
- 1 fresh fennel sliced/ cubed
- 5 celery sticks roughly chopped
- 1 bag frozen peas
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 tbsp veggie bouillon (מרק עוף)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (optional, to thicken the sauce)
- salt to taste
Directions
- Start by making the meatballs; make sure your “meat” is defrosted. Add the burgers to a bowl with the onion, cilantro, breadcrumbs, olive oil, paprika, pepper, and salt.
- Mix until well combined and let it sit covered in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- In a medium/ large pot, on medium-high, heat the olive oil and add the onion. Sauté until golden.
- Add the celery and fennel and mix.
- Add the turmeric and continue mixing for another 5 minutes or so.
- Add the frozen peas and mix.
- In a separate bowl, add the bullion and cornstarch to the boiling water and mix well to make sure there are no lumps.
- Pour mixture over veggies, then add the cilantro and the black pepper.
- Take the meat mixture out of the fridge and with wet hands, start forming medium-sized, even meatballs.
- Bring everything to a boil and add the meatballs on top.
- Occasionally take some of the sauce and spread over the meatballs. Let cook covered for about 25 minutes.
- Taste the sauce and adjust by adding more salt/ pepper.
- Serve with jasmine rice.
- Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks: You can add potatoes to this recipe and skip the rice! Just add a little bit more water.
