BOSH! Orzo meatballs

Food photography - Lizzie Mayson

The BOSH! duo of Henry Firth and Ian Theasby have just released a new book MEAT, which is all about creating food with the look and taste of real meat from veggie ingredients. With vegetarianism, veganism and flexitarianism all on the rise, this book caters for those who have cut meat out, but still miss the taste. If you’ve considered that veggie alternatives have in the past been bland and uninteresting, some of the recipes in this new book are a real game-changer, including this one which utilises orzo, one of the rarely used pastas. 

ORZO MEATBALLS

SERVES 4

FOR THE MEATBALLS

20g flat-leaf parsley (including the stalks)

3 garlic cloves

2 tbsp chia seeds

600g plant-based mince

3 tbsp panko breadcrumbs

4 tbsp nooch (nutritional yeast) or grated plant based parmesan

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

FOR THE SAUCE

1 small onion

20ml olive oil

1 tsp sea salt flakes

250ml plant-based white wine

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

3 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp light brown sugar

2 tbsp plant-based butter

285ml cold water

250g orzo pasta

TO SERVE

handful of fresh parsley

sprinkle of nooch (nutritional yeast) or plant-based parmesan

small bag of fresh rocket

squeeze of lemon juice

Large heavy-based saucepan with lid

Make the meatball mixture

• Finely chop the parsley and set aside

• Peel and finely chop the garlic

• Soak the chia seeds in a bowl with 4 tablespoons of cold water for about 10 minutes until it forms a gel

• Place all the ingredients for the meatballs into a large bowl and mix together with your hands, being sure not to overmix, as it will make the meatballs dense-textured and heavy

Make the meatballs

• Pinch out pieces of the mix and form them into walnutsize balls, putting them on a clean plate as you go

• You should get about 20 meatballs

Make the sauce

• Peel and finely dice the onion

• Heat the oil in a heavybased saucepan that's large enough to take the meatballs and pasta

• Add the chopped onion with the salt and cook over a medium heat, stirring every now and again, for about 10 minutes until softened

• Add the wine and simmer for a further 10 minutes

• Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, paprika, chilli flakes, vinegar, brown sugar and butter

• Fill both the empty tins with the water, give

them a good swill, pour into the pan, bring the sauce to a simmer, put the lid on and cook for 30-35 minutes

Cook the meatballs

• Drop the meatballs gently into the simmering sauce

• Bring back to the boil, turn the heat down again to a simmer, put the lid back on and simmer the meatballs for 15 minutes

Add the pasta

• Tip in the orzo, stir gently and increase the heat to bring the mixture back to a bubble• Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked

• You will have to stir it occasionally throughout this time to make sure the orzo isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan

Time to serve

• Chop the parsley (to serve)

• Spoon the pasta into bowls, sprinkle with parsley, nooch and a handful of rocket, add a squeeze of lemon juice and tuck in

Recipe from BOSH! Meat: Over 100 Outrageously tasty recipes by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby (HQ, HarperCollins) £22