Have you forgotten to soak legumes and want to use them quickly to prepare meatballs? Here is the trick of the chefs of La Scuola de La Cucina Italiana
Not only soups and soups: whether you are vegetarian or not, you will have tasted it at least once burger or legume balls (for example falafel, typical meatballs of Middle Eastern cuisine).
Thanks to their correct intake of proteins, beans, chickpeas, lentils and peas are often used as a substitute for meat, to prepare dishes that we typically consider "carnivorous".
The trick to prepare fast legume patties
Whole dried legumes should be soaked for at least one night in plenty of cold water so that they re-hydrate well.
Did you forget to soak them and want to use them as quickly as possible?
Rinse them well, drain them from the water and proceed with a double sbianchitura: boil the water, add the legumes for a minute and drain. Boil again and repeat the same operation. Continue cooking with a pinch of baking soda, which allows you to soften the outer skin more easily, in medium hot water. This is because, if the boil is prolonged and too intense, there is a risk that the legumes will break.
A recipe: Spiced chickpea meatballs with vegetable brunoise and sweet and sour tomato sauce
Ingredients for 4
For the meatballs
250 g Boiled chickpeas
50 g White bread
7 g Curry
10 g Parsley
Cumin
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
For vegetables
100 g Celeriac
100 g Carrots
100 g Daikon
100 g Potatoes
For the sauce
300 g tomato sauce
50 g Shallot
50 g sugar
30 White vinegar
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Method
Put all the ingredients in a mixer and mix everything together. Once a workable compound is obtained, remove from the mixer. If necessary, adjust the flavor and form meatballs about 3 cm in diameter and one cm high. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush them with oil and bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. They will have to gratinate.
For the vegetables: Clean and wash the vegetables. Cut them into fine cubes and cook them in a saucepan for a few minutes with salt and pepper oil. To preserve.
For the sauce: Chop the shallot and let it dry in a saucepan with oil, sugar and salt. Then blend with the vinegar. Once blended add the sauce and cook for about 20 minutes. Place the hot meatballs on the plate with the tomato sauce and hot vegetables. Finish with a drizzle of oil and some aromatic herbs.
Legume flour: some ideas
You can also try legumes in flour, to be used to flavor the dough of bread or crepes. If you mix legume flour with corn starch, you can also prepare a batter for frying vegetables, meat or fish.
To find out many other tips, consult our cooking classes calendar.
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