Vegan Swedish No-Meat Balls Christmas Style

Using a small pot, bring water to a boil and take 4 tbsp of it.

In a small bowl, combine the 4 tbsp of textured soy and the 4 tbsp of boiling water. Stir throughly and mince with a fork. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, combine 1 cup of water, the 6 tbsp of Japanese soy sauce, 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of browning liquid. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the 2 cups of gluten and the 2 tbsp of chickpea flour.

Using a pestle and mortar, proceed to grind the dried juniper berries and the allspice corns.Then mix with the 1/5 tsp of ground cloves and stir into the bowl where the gluten and chickpea flour have been previously combined.

In a non-stick skillet, over medium heat, cook the chopped onion with 1 tbsp of olive oil until soft and tender.

Bring the broth to a boil.

Now proceed to combine all the ingredients together in the large bowl where the gluten, chickpea flour and spices already are.

Mix just until the liquid is incorporated and the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not knead the dough even if the mixture seems a little dry. Now roll the dough into balls of about 2 cm in diameter. They need to be done quite fast because the gluten in the dough becomes more elastic the longer the dough sits, making rolling more and more difficult. We make the meatballs together because four hands work faster than two and it’s always more fun to cook with your partner . Place them on a work surface.

Roll each not-meat ball again briefly before adding to the boiling broth. Add the balls to the boiling broth and reduce the heat to a simmer. Don’t boil them! Simmer for 20 minutes. If you make larger balls, simmer for 5-10 more minutes.

Cook uncovered turning occasionally. Once simmering is complete, remove the pot from the heat and let the balls cool in the broth until lukewarm.

Transfer the no-meat balls to a food storage bag with 1/2 cup of broth and refrigerate overnight or for up to 1 week. Do not miss this step as it’s essential to create the perfect texture.

The next day, bring the balls to room temperature for about half an hour before browning them.

Using a non-stick skillet, brown the no-meat balls with 3 tbsp of cooking oil over medium heat.

Eat them as a main course with some vegan gravy and boiled or baked potatoes on the side. Enjoy!