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Vegan Meatballs with Sauce (Vegane Seitan Königsberger Klopse)

These vegan meatballs with sauce are inspired by Oma's Königsberger klopse, with a creamy, tangy finish that's perfect for guests and an everyday dinner.

Ingredients:

For the seitan balls:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon (14 g) vegan butter
• 2 tablespoon (8 g) chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup (200 g) canned green or brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• ½ cup (50 g) walnuts
• 1¼ cups (185 g) vital wheat gluten
• 6 tablespoon (90 ml) water
• 2 tablespoon (30 ml) tamari, soy sauce, or MAGGI
• 1½ tablespoon (22.5 ml) German mustard (or your favorite)
• ½ teaspoon (1 g) freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch nutmeg

For the sauce:

• 6 tablespoon (84 g) vegan butter
• 6 tablespoon (48 g) all-purpose flour
• 6 cups (1.4 liter) hot vegan chicken-style broth
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ¾ cup (180 g) vegan sour cream
• 2 tablespoon (30 ml) lemon juice, plus more if needed
• 3 tablespoon (25 g) capers (optional)
• 1 pinch sugar
• freshly ground nutmeg, to taste

Instructions:

For the seitan balls:

1. Sauté the onion in the butter until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the parsley and sauté for 1 minute.
2. In a food processor, add the onion and parsley mixture along with the lentils and walnuts. Process until you get a crumbly paste.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed, until you get a crumbly dough that sticks together when pressed.
4. Use a small cookie scoop to measure out the dough and roll it into a ball. You should have about 24 golf-sized meatballs. Feel free to make yours smaller or larger, if desired.
5. Add the seitan balls to a steamer, leaving a little bit of space between them, and steam for 30 minutes. You may need to do this in batches if the balls don’t all fit.
6. Allow the meatballs to cool, then chill them in the fridge in an airtight container overnight, or for a few days, until ready to use.

For the sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth, but do not let it brown. Reduce the heat if necessary. Gradually whisk in the hot broth, stirring until the sauce is smooth. Add the bay leaf and simmer for about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Place the sour cream in a small bowl. Add a little bit of the sauce to the sour cream and stir it in to temper it. Do this two more times to ensure that the sour cream won’t curdle when you add it to the sauce.
3. Turn the heat down to low and remove the bay leaf. Stir in the tempered sour cream, lemon juice, and capers. Season with sugar and nutmeg. Add additional salt, pepper, and lemon juice, as needed.
4. Add just the amount of seitan balls you plan to serve to the sauce and heat through for about 5 minutes, and serve.

Notes/Hints:

• Sometimes cashew cream can curdle a little when added to hot liquids. Tempering the cashew cream will prevent this from happening.
• You can easily make your own vegan sour cream.
• You could also melt some vegan butter in a skillet and brown the seitan balls on all sides, then pour the sauce over the balls to serve.
• Serve with boiled potatoes and beets for a traditional German meal.

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