I’ll just come out and say it… Vegetable nuggets > chicken nuggets.
Yeah, you heard me. Not a sentence I was expecting, either. However, not only are they absolutely delicious, they’re packed full of nutrients and are only 40 calories each. Throw 5 or 6 into a container, add a salad and some salsa you’re good to go with a fabulous work lunch in all of 5 seconds flat. And they’re so cheap and easy to make. You probably don’t have to buy a single thing from the store.
I could go on and on. Suffice to say, these are awesome. Which is a pleasant surprise, because while I was cooking them, I was sure they’d be a disaster. I got the recipe from Taste.com, but found the mixture too wet to roll in egg and breadcrumbs, so I just dumped them into the mixture, and then I worried that they’d fall apart while frying in oil, so I baked them first, then finished them off in a nonstick frypan. Bonus: they’re healthier this way!
This recipe yields 30 nuggets, but I think they’d be great as larger rissoles, too. Maybe as veggie burger patties?
Ingredients
1 brown onion, peeled
1 zucchini, trimmed
1 carrot, peeled and trimmed
2 x 400g can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
35g Mexican style cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 3/4 cups dried breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste.
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly spray two baking trays with oil.
- In a food processor, pulse zucchini, carrot and onion until finely chopped. Scrape into a large mixing bowl.
- Pulse beans and add to vegetable mixture. Add cheese, egg and breadcrumbs, and season well. Mix to combine.
- Roll mixture into 30 balls, place on trays, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from trays and allow to cool and firm up.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Spray with oil. Add half the balls and fry until golden brown. Remove from pan and repeat with second half. Allow to cool.
- Serve with salsa and salad.
