Lentil balls with tomato and cashew cream sauce

Ingredients for 3 servings:

• 150 g beluga lentils
• 2 large onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp, heaped buckwheat flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp, heaped parsley
• 1 tsp, heaped thyme
• 1 tsp, heaped rosemary
• 6 tbsp, heaped tomato paste
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 4 tsp, heaped parsley
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp paprika powder
• 100 g cashew nuts
• 10 tbsp almond milk
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 1 dashes lemon juice
• 300 g rice
• 100 g arugula

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

vegan

First, cook the lentils for about 20 minutes until al dente, then let them cool at room temperature. Meanwhile, sauté the onions with the two garlic cloves and a dash of olive oil for 5-10 minutes, then let them cool at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan/convection oven. To make the balls, blend the cooked lentils, sautéed onions and garlic, buckwheat flour, olive oil, parsley, thyme, and rosemary with a blender or hand blender until smooth, then season with salt and pepper. For slightly firmer balls, blend the mixture only briefly to retain some of the lentils. Using a tablespoon, place the balls onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper and then shape them into rounds with wet hands. Bake the balls for about 20-30 minutes. To test for doneness, pierce one of the balls with a knife. If some of the mixture sticks to the knife, bake them for another few minutes. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the package instructions. In the meantime, make the tomato sauce. To do this, puree the tomato paste, garlic, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, chopped parsley, cumin, chili powder, and paprika with 100 ml of water in a blender and season with salt and pepper. For the garlic cream, puree the cashews, almond milk (water is also an option), nutritional yeast, garlic, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Once the balls are ready, arrange them on a plate with the rice and salad and drizzle with the tomato and cashew cream sauce. If you like, you can round off the dish with some chopped parsley and more lemon zest.