Quinoa and Beet Meatballs

Makes 20 to 24 meatballs

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ cup cooked beets cut into pieces
• 1 ½ cup tri-color quinoa, cooked according to package directions
• 1/2 cup chopped red onions
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 1 ½ cup of quinoa flakes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ cup of fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp ground flax seeds
• 1 tsp olive oil

Sauce:

• 1/3 cup of tahini
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 small clove of chopped garlic

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400^oF.
2. In a saucepan, heat a drizzle of oil and cook the onions, garlic and mushrooms for a few minutes and set aside.
3. In a food processor, pulse the beets and walnuts a few times until nicely chopped.
4. Add the quinoa, the mixture of mushrooms and onions and garlic as well as the spices, cilantro and quinoa flakes and pulse 2-3 times to obtain a homogeneous mixture but with a few pieces.
5. Place the mixture in the fridge 30 min before forming the meatballs.
6. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with a little olive oil with a brush.
7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned
8. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients until smooth.
9. Serve the meatballs with maple tahini sauce.