Spaghetti and Black Bean Meatballs

Chris and I both loved tonight's dinner.  Since I've never liked the taste of meat, I don't often make meat substitutes.  However, Chris loves meat so I was very curious to see if he'd like black bean "meatballs."

I was worried as I made the meatballs because they seemed too wet to form into balls.  Chris most aptly described the mixture when he said it looked like it came out the rear end of a cat.

In fact, after seeing my wet, messy meatballs he reached into the freezer to check the package directions on some frozen meatballs, just in case he needed to make them. 

Ever since making artichoke spinach pasta using a jar of marinara sauce, I'm a huge fan of adulterating jarred sauce.  Tonight I added roasted red peppers, baby spinach, chopped onions and red wine.

For the meatballs, I followed a recipe from the Peas and Thank You cookbook for Mediterranean lentil meatballs.  This is only the second recipe I've tried from the book, but I've really liked both.  I need to be better about making recipes from the numerous cookbooks I own. 

Spaghetti and Black Bean Meatballs

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients (serves 4-5)

• 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• whole wheat spaghetti
• pasta sauce

Instructions

• Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until mixture forms a wet-looking, thick batter.
• Form batter into 18 meatballs using a medium cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons).  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and flip each meatball over.  Bake for another 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large pot bring water to a boil.  Add desired amount of spaghetti noodles and cook for 7 minutes.
• Top spaghetti with 3 or 4 meatballs, and cover in preferred pasta sauce.  I like marinara sauce with baby spinach, chopped onions, roasted red peppers and a little red wine.

Recipe adapted from: Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love

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