Mushroom & Rice "neat" Balls

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup arborio rice, uncooked
• 1 lb cremini mushroom, finely chopped (should make 2 cups when finely chopped, use cremini or button too)
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 vegan egg (ie energ egg replacer, flax egg or chia egg)
• 1 cup dried breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons almond meal
• 2 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Recipe

• 1 in a large saucepan, bring broth to a simmer over high heat. add rice, reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, approx 18 to 20 minutes. stir almost constantly during last 5 minutes of cooking. when done, transfer to large bowl and set aside.
• 2 while the rice cooks, finely chop your mushrooms (use a food processor if you like). in large skillet, heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat. add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2-3 minutes add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, 3-5 minutes add to bowl with rice; let cool.
• 3 preheat oven to 400f and lightly grease a baking sheet.
• 4 add vegan egg, breadcrumbs, almond meal, nutritional yeast, parsley, salt and pepper to cooled rice mixture and mix well. form mixture about 24 oval or round nuggets, each about 2 inches in diameter. your slightly damp hands are probably the best tool for doing this.
• 5 clean out your skillet then heat up the remaining 2 tsp olive oil over medium high heat; tilt to coat bottom. add half the nuggets and cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes turn nuggets over onto prepared baking sheet. repeat with remaining nuggets. bake until nuggets are browned and firm, 15-20 minutes
• 6 serve the "neat" balls hot over tomato sauce & pasta, or any other dish you think will compliment.