Vegetarian Brown Rice Balls

[Guest guest]

For my meat-eating family last night I made some turkey meatballs, and I thought

I would come up with a recipe for me for a meatless version. There are probably

many different recipes out there, but the only one I could find was in my

Vegetarian Times cookbook and it used raw bulgur for the balls, then they were

simmered in tomato juice. So I thought I'd come up with my own using

ingredients I had on hand and spices that I like. I tell you, I am having so

much fun trying new vegetarian recipes and coming up with some of my own!

 

Vegetarian Brown Rice Balls (Makes about 22 balls)

 

½ c. onion, finely chopped

2 T. olive oil

2 c. cooked brown rice

2 T. chopped parsley

1-2 cloves pressed garlic

2 T. flax meal

½ c. finely chopped zucchini

2-3 T. finely grated carrot

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

½ tsp. poultry seasoning

1 tsp. dried thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 large egg

About ¼ c. flour of choice….enough to make a semi-firm mixture that will hold

its shape

Canola oil for frying

 

In a skillet, sauté the onion in the olive oil until softened. Let onion cool

slightly, then place into a large bowl. To the onion, add brown rice, parsley,

garlic, flax, zucchini, carrot, cayenne, poultry seasoning, thyme, salt, and

pepper. Mix well. Taste a bit to see if it is seasoned well, then adjust

seasoning, if necessary. Add the egg to the mixture and mix in well. Add flour

a bit at a time until the dough can hold its shape. Pour enough canola oil into

a non-stick skillet to coat the bottom completely. Heat the oil over med. heat.

Test it with a crumb of mixture to make sure it sizzles. Shape the mixture into

1 " to 1 ¼ " balls and place into the skillet. Don't overcrowd the balls. Fry

balls on all sides until a nice medium brown color and cooked through. Serve

warm plain, or with a white cheese sauce or vegetarian gravy.

 

**I ate mine with a Monterey Jack/Thyme cheese sauce that was yummy, but I want

to come up with a healthier sauce to use on them that doesn't include cheese.