Spaghetti Meatballs with Toffu

Do you ever wonder why spaghetti meatballs have to be so huge and intimidating? In my opinion, the person who cooks those giants spaghetti meatballs is very efficient in time management. Making balls can be time consuming. Today I have a day off so I told myself to make my own bite size spaghetti meatballs. Et voila, here is the recipe.. 

Ingredients:

1 cube of firm toffu (225 gr)

½ red onion, finely chopped

250 gr lean ground beef

1 Tbsp dry parsley

¼ Tsp rosemary powder

¼ Tsp paprika powder

¼ Tsp dry oregano

¼ Tsp dry basil

¼ Tsp garlic powder

¼ Tsp black pepper powder

¼ Tsp nutmeg powder

1 Tsp dijon mustard

2 Tsp beef broth powder

¼ cup breadcrumb (I used Panko breadcrumb)

1 large egg (beaten in a bowl)

Oil 

1 jar of home made or store bought spaghetti sauce

Spaghetti pasta

1. Using electric chopper, chop the toffu into a very fine, minced meat like consistency.

2. In a skillet, sautée the onion with a bit of oil until it turns translucent.

3. In a big bowl, mix the meat, all the spices, dijon mustard, beef broth powder and toffu. Add bread crumb and beaten egg. Mix thoroughly.

4. With lightly oiled hand, shape each meatballs with about 2 tbsp of the meat mixture. Set aside on a plate then flatten each meatballs on one side lightly with a spatula. 

5. Brown the meatballs on a frying pan with oil on a medium heat, about 2 minutes for each side. 

6. On another pan with lid, bring to boil the spaghetti sauce on medium heat. Reduce the heat and put in the meatballs gently and let it simmer in the sauce for about 30 minutes. Cover the pan with the lid during simmering so your sauce won't dry out. 

7. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti pasta until al dente, drain and plate it. Pour the meatballs sauce on top. Serve with parmesan and garlic bread. 

Happy cooking!!

PS: Keep the left over for spagetti sauce meatballs sandwich lunches. Since the meatballs were flattened on the side and its rather coin shape like, it won't roll off of your sandwich easily when you bite on it.