Coconut and Berries

Healthy, Vegan Recipes by Emma Potts

Moroccan Meat-less Balls with Pear & Tomato Sauce

Spicy Meat-less Balls with Pear & Tomato Sauce

Hi folks! Long time no speak! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are feeling rested and ready for the new year.

I was busy busy busy working up until Christmas Eve so I definitely appreciated some time off. I didn’t actually do any cooking on Christmas Day as my brother & family hosted again this year and insisted on making a dish for me. They actually chose one of the recipes on my blog! That one’s good for any occasion so definitely give it a try if you haven’t already. 

Spicy Meat-less Balls with Pear & Tomato Sauce

Today’s recipe is a nice change of pace from holiday fare and the endless desserts that seem to come at this time of year. It will ease you back into healthy eating nicely as well since it’s one of those meals that’s so rich and delicious you’d never guess it was good for you.

I adapted the meat-less balls from the lovely Dreena Burton’s recipe which I’ve made a few times as written and loved. They’re made from a combination of nuts, oats and vegetables and have a pretty darn authentic taste and texture, wonderful served in the traditional way with pasta and marinara sauce.

Spicy Meat-less Balls with Pear & Tomato Sauce

I decided to leave Italy behind with my variation and headed to the Middle East (yep, I’m predictable!)! With this chilly weather I’m unsurprisingly craving warming meals and the dose of fiery harissa does the job nicely. The rich sauce with chunks of melt-in-the-mouth pear, along with the fragrant spices, bring that sweet meets savoury quality I’m so fond of.

Spicy Meat-less Balls with Pear & Tomato Sauce

I loved this dish served over quinoa or couscous but any leftovers are also great stuffed in a pita with some salad and a dollop of herby non-dairy yogurt.

Print
Moroccan Meat-less Balls with Pear & Tomato Sauce

Yield: 4-6 Servings

Moroccan Meat-less Balls with Pear & Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

    Meat-less Balls:
  • 2 Tbsp Oil, divided
  • 1 Medium onion, diced
  • 1 Stalk of celery, diced
  • 3/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 Clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp Harissa
  • 1-1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp Chili flakes
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Molasses
  • 1/2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1-1/2 C Walnuts
  • 1 C Rolled Oats
    • Pear & Tomato Sauce:
  • 1 Tbsp Oil
  • 2 Cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Tbsp Harissa paste
  • 1 tsp Smoked paprika
  • 1 Cinnamon stick
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 1 Tbsp Coconut sugar
  • 1 x 400g/14oz Can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 C Water
  • 2 Firm pears, peeled and cut into large wedges/chunks
  • 1 Tbsp Lemon juice

Instructions

    For the meat-less balls:
  1. Ina large pan, sauté the onion and celery in 1 Tbsp oil for 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic and salt and cook, stirring, for a further minute. Add the harissa, smoked paprika, chili flakes and cinnamon and cook for a further minute.
  2. Transfer mixture to a food processor along with the remaining ingredients and process until the mixture becomes crumbly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and process again, just until the mixture becomes sticky.
  3. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour and up to overnight. Take small spoonfuls of the mixture, and roll into compact balls (N.b. if the mixture is crumbly, add a dash of water).
  4. Heat the remaining Tbsp of oil in a large pan, add the balls and fry for 5-7 minutes, turning to brown all sides.
    5. For the sauce:
  5. In a medium pot, sauté the garlic over low heat for 2 minutes. Add the salt, harissa and smoked paprika and stir well. Add the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, coconut sugar, tomatoes and water and bring to a boil.
  6. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for approx 30 minutes, or until sauce has thickened nicely. Add the pears and cook for a further 10 minutes, until just tender.
  7. Add the lemon and check for seasoning.
  8. Serve the meat-less balls in the sauce or topped with the sauce.
http://www.coconutandberries.com/2014/12/28/moroccan-meat-less-balls-pear-tomato-sauce/

Spicy Meat-less Balls with Pear & Tomato Sauce

If you haven’t tried harissa yet I recommend picking up a jar – or making your own! It’s wonderful in soups and stews, spread on flatbread, stirred into hummus and more.

What foods and flavours are you craving right now?

If you’re new to Coconut and Berries, please sign up for email updates and join me elsewhere! I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (@coconutandberries), Google + and Twitter! You can also follow Coconut and Berries with Bloglovin or Feedly.

Share

Comments

  2. Ahh, its an hour before lunchtime and then this pops up in my face and I can practically SMELL this wafting out of the screen. *faints*

    Once I regain consciousness this is being pinned for later usage - its all made out of ingredients I tend to use all the time anyway! (Apart from perhaps the celery, which is one vegetable I’ve never managed to like and therefore never buy… is it essential?:P)

    I’ve never had anyone in my family make one of my recipes - my sister hates cooking and my mum never follows recipes:p Great cook though. Hope you have an awesome New Year!

    • Haha. I’m working in food at the moment so I’m usually starving by 11am!
      Hope you try the recipe. I’m sure they’d be perfectly fine without the celery. Maybe use an onion on a larger size to make up for less wet ingredients. I can see 1 stalk of celery being annoying if you don’t usually eat it. Mine usually gets juiced or dipped in hummus 😉

  3. Welcome back Emma - I hope things quieten down for you as 2015 starts! Happy belated Christmas too and it’s lovely that you didn’t have to prepare anything yourself.

    This dish looks perfect for cooler temperatures and as you say, a nice change from sweet dishes, of which there have been many recently!

    • Thanks Kari. I think I need a break from baking…for a little while anyway 😉
      Hope you had a good rest yourself. I’m starting a new job in January so things look set to get busier rather than quieter!

  6. This looks so good! I am always looking for new recipes to try! I am curious as I have never heard of Harissa before..do you use the paste, sauce or seasoning form? Thank you! :)

  7. I made those for lunch today and they were super yummy. I didn’t have pears so I replaced them with an apple which I chopped small and it was still really good.
    Who needs meat?!

    Thanks for a great recipe :)

  8. Hi Emma!

    This recipe makes me want to make a batch up right now! I kind of got “meatballed” out awhile ago but the harissa and pear combination makes for a twist on an old classic. I bet I could even entice my carnivorous parents to dig into a bowl of this! Convert one delicious meal at a time, eh? :)

    Thanks so much!

    • Thank you Jennifer! Lovely to hear that the recipe’s got you running to the kitchen 😉 I loved the flavour twist here but you could definitely use these as a base for a more classic flavour “meatball” too. Hope you get to try them some time.

  10. Hi! These look delicious and I would love to make them! But I don’t know what harissa pasta is!?!? Or where I could buy it?!

Trackbacks

Copyright © 2013 Emma Potts and Coconut and Berries . Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Coconut and Berries is a participant in the Amazon Services Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.