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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