Garbanzo Meatballs

Here’s something new…Garbanzo Meatballs!

This is an adaptation of a recipe I found by one of my favorite YouTube chefs, Spain On A Fork.

These are yummy chick pea meatballs with all the bite of a regular meatball, and served with a delightful creamy (but not cream) paprika sauce.

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKPEA MEATBALLS

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 15.5 oz
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1 large egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic (grated)
1 small carrot (grated)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp ground cumin
sea salt & black pepper

FOR THE PAPRIKA SAUCE

1 small onion (finely chopped)
3 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
1 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour (I used almond flour)
2 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 cup low fat milk. I skipped this and used yogurt.
3/4 cup vegetable broth (I boiled/simmered water with diced celery, onion and carrot for about 20 minutes, I added a little salt and black pepper).
2 tsp lemon juice
sea salt & black pepper to taste
I added some garlic powder to bring up the garliciness.

In hindsight I would have added more broth and yogurt. The taste was fine, but I wanted more sauce. Almost twice as much.

EXTRAS

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 60 ml
chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

To make the chickpea meatballs, drain the can of chickpeas into a colander and rinse the chickpeas under water, then shake off any excess water and transfer the chickpeas into a large bowl, using a potato masher or a large fork mash down on the chickpeas until they’re mashed

Add the bread crumbs over the mashed chickpeas, crack in the egg, add in the chopped onion, grated garlic, grated carrot, chopped parsley, cumin and season with sea salt & black pepper, mix together until well mixed, then mash down on the mixture until you get a paste-like texture

To shape the meatballs, grab a spoonful of the mixture and squeeze it in your hands, this is to ensure the ingredients and well binded together, then form it into a shape of a golf ball

These were coated in olive oil and air fried for about 20 minutes at 400°. The original recipe had them baked in an oven.

Using the same pan with the same heat make the paprika sauce, add in the chopped onion and garlic, mix continuously, after 2 to 3 minutes add in the flour, continue to mix together, after 2 minutes add in the paprika and oregano, quickly mix together, then add in the milk and broth, continue to gently mix together

Once you end up with a slightly creamy sauce, about 3 to 4 minutes, add in the lemon juice and season with sea salt & black pepper, mix together, then add the chickpea meatballs back into the pan, gently flip each one so they’re fully coated in the sauce, simmer for 2 to 3 minutes

Transfer the chickpea meatballs into serving dishes, top off with the paprika sauce and garnish with chopped parsley, enjoy!

We served ours with a wonderful fresh salad and some olive loaf bread, accented with an olive oil herb dipping mix.

SOOOOO good!