Veggie “Meatballs” with Mushroom Gravy & Fried Sage

The holidays are the time of year to get together with your closest friends and family and share stories and meals. Unfortunately, many of the classic holiday recipes out there are not vegetarian or vegan friendly. This recipe uses Yves Sweet Potato & Chia Bites as the “meatballs”, so all you need to do is make a delicious hearty mushroom gravy and make it look extra elegant by garnishing with fried sage. All of the traditional holiday flavours are still present in this dish, from gravy, to sweet potatoes and sage. Serve with a side of green beans and some cranberry sauce and you’ve got yourself quite the feast.

Veggie “Meatballs” with Mushroom Gravy & Fried Sage

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Total time:  1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

For the Mushroom Gravy

• ¼ cup vegan butter or olive oil

• 14oz sliced button mushrooms

• ¾ cup finely chopped shallot

• 2 tbsp. fresh sage, minced

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup dry sherry

• 4 cups mushroom or vegetable stock

• Salt and pepper to taste
  

For Assembly

• 2 packages Yves Sweet Potato & Chia Bites (240g each)

• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, for frying

• ½ a bunch fresh sage, leaves picked from stems

• Salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat vegan butter or oil in a large fry pan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and chopped sage and season with salt. Cook until mushrooms lose their moisture, and the shallots and mushrooms get a deep golden brown colour, around 20 minutes. Stir often.

Stir in the flour, and cook for 5 minutes, continually stirring until the flour is absorbed. Pour in the sherry and the stock, and bring to a boil. Scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, to infuse the browning flavour into the gravy. Lower the heat to medium low, and stir constantly until the gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, around 30-35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat your oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and place the sweet potato & chia bites on top in an even layer. Bake for 10-11 minutes.

While the gravy reduces and the veggie meatballs are in the oven, heat the olive oil “for frying” in a small fry pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the sage leaves in an even layer. The sage leaves should sizzle when they hit the oil. You will need to do this in batches to avoid overcrowding your pan. Fry the leaves for around 15 seconds. I found that the leaves do not curl up as much if you place them in the oil with the back of the leaf facing up. Do not let the sage leaves brown, as this will leave a bitter taste. Remove the leaves from the hot oil, and transfer to a paper towel lined plate to absorb extra grease and sprinkle with fine salt. The leaves will get crispy as they cool.

To assemble, place the cooked sweet potato and chia “meatballs” in the gravy, stirring to coat. Top with crispy fried sage and serve.

 This post is sponsored by Yves Veggie Cuisine.