Hi! I’m back from Chicago! The show went well and we even had time to see some cool stuff and eat a bunch of yummy food! I tried deep dish pizza for the first time ever – what a crazy, gooey experience. On Saturday we started the morning with the best pistachio croissants and walked around the gold coast historic district – you can see so many beautiful old homes there, including the original playboy mansion. From there we walked to the John Hancock observatory and went all the way to the top for 360 degree views of the city. Then we got on the blue line to Logan Square and had the loveliest lunch here. The afternoon was spent at the Art Institute – walking around and looking at paintings until our feet were numb. And before it got dark we checked out the bean at millennium park – so many teenagers taking selfies of their selfies up against the super shiny reflective surface. That all worked up a major appetite so we had an early dinner here – nourishing hippie bowls with house-made tempeh, so good. Oh and I also had the most amazing/unique/delicious dinner at Stephanie Izard’s Girl and the Goat! I still feel full from all the foodie adventures and I never thought I would say this but some kind of juice cleanse actually sounds really nice right now – I mean that gooey deep-dish pizza stuff had about a two months worth of cheese on it! Ok, guys! This soup! My coworker Venny gave me these urad dal lentils – they’re her favorite and she thought I would like them too, she was right. Obsessed with these light, buttery, nutty little things. They are black lentils that have had their skin removed and split. They are super sticky which makes them perfect for ball rolling. You don’t even need to cook them – just soak for two hours! I see urad dal veggie burgers in my future for sure!
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Step 1
Place the onion, parsley and garlic into your food processor and pulse until fine.
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Step 2
Next, add the rest of the ingredients for the meatballs and process until you really start to see it all coming together. Heat up your pan with a generous amount of high heat oil. Now get a little handful of the mix and roll some balls.
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Step 3
Urad dal is super sticky, which is great for helping these balls keep their shape but you may want to grease your hands first. Place balls in pan and cook a few minutes on each side until light brown.
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Step 4
For the soup, lightly brown the mirepoix until fragrant, add some salt and pepper and your veggie stock, plus the wine. Some fresh thyme and pepper flakes is good here too.
Ingredients for the White Lentil Meatballs
1 cup urad dal
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 small onion
1 bunch of parsley
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
a few dashes tamari or soy sauce
a few dashes liquid smoke
ground fresh pepper
high heat oil for cooking
Ingredients for the Italian Wedding Soup
8 cups of vegetable stock (homemade is best)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 an onion
2 carrots
1 celery rib
1 big bunch kale
pepper flakes and fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
fresh thyme sprig
2 tablespoons butter and two tablespoons olive oil for browning the mirepoix
mirepoix = half an onion + 1 carrot + 1 celery rib
cooked farro, parmesan cheese and squeeze of lemon for serving
Directions
Soak the urad dal for two hours. Rinse clean. Place the onion, parsley and garlic into your food processor and pulse until fine. Next, add the rest of the ingredients for the meatballs and process until you really start to see it all coming together. Heat up your pan with a generous amount of high heat oil. Now get a little handful of the mix and roll some balls. Urad dal is super sticky, which is great for helping these balls keep their shape but you may want to grease your hands first. Place balls in pan and cook a few minutes on each side until light brown. Set aside. For the soup, lightly brown the mirepoix until fragrant, add some salt and pepper and your veggie stock, plus the wine. Some fresh thyme and pepper flakes is good here too. I love making home-made veggie stock with a parmesan rind – especially for a soup like this. Thinly slice one carrot and chop up the kale. Add it to the soup just long enough to wilt the kale. Add the lentil balls. Serve with a scoop of cooked farro (optional) and freshly grated parmesan and squeeze of lemon.
Notes
Urad dal are black lentils that have had their skin removed and split. You can find urad dal at your local ethnic grocery store or online.