Vegan Nuggets of Goodness

Simply made from chick peas, petits pois, spring onions/scallions and crumbed protein bread (or your choice of breadcrumbs) – these delicious nuggets make a great vegan ‘fakeaway’ instead of the usual chicken or meat nugget options. I find that they make a great balanced light meal with a tomato, sweetcorn, red onion and herb salad, but others might like to also serve with some spicy potato wedges to make it more substantial. I like to rub mine with ready-made harissa paste before baking in the usual way.

If you wish to boost the protein then consider adding a scoop of unflavoured protein to the nugget mixture or serve the finished baked ones with a generous dollop of herby thick Greek or plain/natural protein yogurt.

VEGAN NUGGETS WITH TOMATO SALAD

Ingredients

METRIC/US

400 g/14 oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed

100 g/2/3 cup frozen petits pois or garden peas, thawed

2 spring onions/scallions, chopped

1 tbsp chopped garlic

100 g/2 cups fresh protein breadcrumbs (or breadcrumbs of your choice)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

low-fat cooking spray or mist

225 g/8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved

150 g/generous ¾ cup canned sweetcorn kernels (or frozen cooked)

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 tbsp chopped parsley

3 tbsp fat-free French style dressing

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F/Gas 6.
Put make the nuggets put the chick peas, petits pois, spring onions/scallions and garlic in a food processor and blitz until chunky. Add the breadcrumbs with salt and pepper to taste and pulse to combine. If needed, add 1 tbsp water to bring the mixture together.
Divide into 16 pieces, roll into balls and arrange on a baking tray. Spritz well with low-fat cooking spray or mist, then bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until the outsides are crisp.
To make the salad, put the tomatoes, sweetcorn, red onion, parsley and dressing in a bowl and stir well to mix.
Serve the nuggets with the prepared salad (and some potato wedges if liked).

SERVES 4

WLS PORTION: ½

V suitable for Vegans and Vegetarians

CALORIES PER PORTION: 193

PROTEIN: 11.8 g

CARBOHYDRATE: 27.1 g

FAT: 3.3 g

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