I must confess when I first thought about doing tofu meatballs I was skeptical. I’m not big on foods that try to be meat. You can’t call a carrot a burger, I won’t be duped. But always one to try anything once I plunged ahead and made these.
Yummalicious. Seriously. What they need is a publicist. Tofu meatballs just doesn’t work and Seasoned Tofu balls is just as absurd, but I digress. The Book of Yum had a recipe that was easy to prepare. The Book of Yum is a great blog dedicated to gluten-free vegetarian cooking.
- 2 lbs firm tofu, drained
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 whole green onions, sliced
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- one egg or egg substitute
- generous amounts of freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup freshly grated vegan or regular cheese (optional)
- 1/4 cup soy or regular yogurt whisked well
- 3/4 cup gluten-free bread crumbs, made in a food processor (I used panko)
- 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasonings
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- more freshly ground pepper
- 2 or 3 tbsp. olive oil
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Slice tofu horizontally and wrap in kitchen towels and put a cutting board on top of the wrapped tofu. Put something on top of the cutting board, like a pot, for additional weight. Leave it to drain for 20 minutes. Then wrap it in a clean thin cotton dishtowel, knead it and squeeze as much water out of it as possible.
- Knead the tofu in a large bowl for five minutes and then add the garlic, green onions, salt, pepper, and cheese. Knead it for another few minutes. Whisk the egg and work it into the tofu dough.
- Combine the ground bread crumbs, spices and pepper in a large flat bowl or pie pan. Make small, walnut-sized balls out of the tofu dough and roll each ball in the dough.
- Heat the olive oil in a nonstick pan or well-seasoned cast-iron pan on medium and fry your tofu meatballs on each side until golden brown.
- Top the tofu with some cheese and cook in the oven for abut 3 minutes
You could serve with a marinara and have a hero or hoagie because I’m from NJ and that’s what they are. I mean that’s what they should be called everywhere, because I’m from NJ and that’s how we roll.
I had mine on a salad. I also roasted a slice of red onion and orange bell pepper drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
Enjoy!
Namaste y’all.
