Spaghetti & Bean Balls

I'm pretty sure we all have those "I'm craving spaghetti" moments. You boil your pasta, make your tomato sauce (or open a jar of it) and ...yum? Something is missing.. Ah yes, the meatballs! But since I rather skip the meat, I decided to take to Pinterest for some other ideas. There had to be some alternatives. And of course, there were! Some posts used quinoa and others used beans and since I had some cans of beans on hand, I figured I'd try that recipe. So although bean "meat"balls are a genius idea, I am not the genius behind them. This recipe is adapted from Cookin' Canuck's blog.

The final test was having my meat-loving fiance take a bite. Success! His exact words were "wow, they're actually really good".  Not only were they delicious, but they also had the same fulfilling qualities of meat that left me satisfied for hours.

I made sure to use whole-wheat organic pasta from Trader Joe's, which unlike white pasta that is full of empty calories, has plenty of fiber and protein. Also, my general rule of thumb is that if you can't pronounce the ingredients, you shouldn't be eating them.

Ingredients of Trader Joe's whole-wheat spaghetti: Organic Durum Whole Wheat

Ingredients of generic white spaghetti: Semolina, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate (Iron), Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid,

Ingredients

·         2 cans of white kidney beans (also known as cannellini beans)

·         One whole roasted red bell pepper

·         1 onion (I used sweet since I didn't have yellow on hand)

·         2 cloves of garlic

·         1/4 cup fresh parsley

·         2 tsp Sicilian dry seasoning (or any Italian)  

·         1 tsp salt

·         1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

·         1 egg

·         3/4 cups dried breadcrumbs

·         A jar of your favorite sauce (I usually like to make my own, but I also keep a jar on hand for those lazy days)

·         Cooked Spaghetti

·         Fresh Parmesan cheese for grating

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine beans and roasted red peppers in a food processor and blend until pureed.

3. Transfer mixture to a bowl and add in chopped onion, garlic, parsley (leave some for garnish at the end), seasoning, salt, pepper, egg and breadcrumbs. Stir till the mixture is evenly combined.

4. Depending on the size of bean ball that you want, roll some of the mixture in between your palms and place on a prepared baking sheet. Make sure to leave some space in between the bean balls so that they don't stick together.

5. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the bean balls are firm and golden. While the bean balls are baking, heat your sauce according to instructions.

6. Serve spaghetti and top with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley!