garlic butter chickpea meatballs with wild rice pilaf
Weekday-friendly balls, at your service.
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and dried
- 1 cup walnut halves
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 large onion, quartered
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1/3 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
wild rice pilaf
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1/2 cup carrot, diced
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups wild rice blend
- 1 cup apple cider, or vegetable broth
- 2 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- For the meatballs: in a food processor, combine the chickpeas, walnuts, breadcrumbs, onion, 4 cloves of the garlic, egg, thyme, and fresh parmesan. Blitz until a cohesive dough forms. Oil your hands and roll the batter into balls. You may get 12-16 balls depending on the size.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium. Cook the meatballs 8-10 minutes, turning frequently to brown all sides. Remove to a shallow dish. Add the butter and garlic, stir for a minute, then pour in the apple cider, cider vinegar, and dijon. Season with salt and pepper and cook until slightly reduced, about 2-3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
- In the same skillet, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Stir in the mushrooms, onion, carrot, and celery until softened, about 4-5 minutes, then stir in the garlic and thyme for an additional minute. Add the wild rice, cider or broth, and water. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20-25 minutes until the rice is softened and most of the water absorbed. The wild rice will still be a little chewy.
- Divide the rice and meatballs into bowls. Pour the garlic butter over everything and serve, preferably, with some crisp white wine.