Any ideas to flavor homemade vegetarian meatballs?

[Nigel]

Any ideas to flavor homemade vegetarian meatballs?

I can't eat garlic at all and very little onion.

I made some meatballs yesterday and while the texture was good and I baked them and then cooked them up in some homemade pizza sauce, they were still severly lacking in flavor. I did put what I thought was lots of spices in them. I used ground up boca burger and I was out of cilantro.

Any ideas?

[imstarryeyed]

Back in the day when I used to make meat balls I put them in a sweet a spicy sauce. I don't remember exactly how I made them but I think I used honey and spicy mustard among other things. It really depends on what kind of flavor you want. I'm sure the fat from the meat gives it a lot of flavor so you need to replace that fat with another flavorful fat.

[Nigel]

I didn't think of mustard and I like mustard in just about anything meatish. I'll add that next time. Thanks for the suggestion.

I have used (in the past) cumin, chili powder, onion, cilantro, italian seasoning, oregano, salt and pepper and parmesan.

[piratejenny]

Have you tried asafoetida?
It is used specifically to replace the flavor of onion & garlic, especially in India where some religions forbid the eating of them.

It has a very peculiar odor when raw (personally, I love it, lol) but the flavor is entirely different when cooked.

In addition to Italian seasoning, you could add extra basil and rosemary. Did you use fresh parsley? You can put in a LOT of that! And as suggested, more fat....butter or good olive oil. When I make veggie burgers, I put in ground walnuts or sunflower seeds; that might be good in meatballs, too. I also add nutritional yeast.

An Italian friend of mine says adding a bit of lemon zest to certain dishes really enhances the flavor...we were talking about pesto, but it might work for veggie meatballs, too!

[Nigel]

Thanks piratejenny. I hadn't heard of asafoetida before, so I'll look for that at the store. I do have fresh parsley growing in my garden, but I didn't think of that either. I do agree that adding some kind of crushed nuts would help with the flavor, so I'll do that next time. If I can get a good tasting meatball, all will be well in my world.

[piratejenny]

You may need to check in an Indian market or order online.
I keep my jar sealed in a couple of plastic bags--it's quite smelly! Lol

[Nigel]

Thanks for the tip, piratejenny. I like your name by the way. I bet the parrot is happy you are a vegetarian. lol (just kidding) You know how the ole captain hook always threatens to eat the parrot....