Belgian Boulet à la Liégeoise, a vegan take on this traditional dish from the city of Liège. Vegan meatballs made with mushrooms and black beans in a rich sweet and sour sauce.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 10 minutesmins
Cook Time 30 minutesmins
Course Main
Cuisine Belgian
Servings 4
Equipment
Blender or food processor
Ingredients
Meatballs
2tbspmilled flaxseed
2tbspwater
1small red onion
2clovesgarlic
200gmushrooms
50goats
50gbreadcrumbs
1can black beansdrained and rinsed.
1tbsptomato paste
PinchNutmeg
Parsely
Salt and black pepperto taste
Sauce
½tablespoonolive oil
20gbutter
1medium onion
2clovesgarlic
3sprigs thyme
2bay leave
2cloves
3tablespoonsgolden raisins
20gbrown sugar
1tablespoonSirop de Liège*substitute apple butter or pomegranate molasses
200mldark Belgian ale
30mlred wine vinegar
200mlvegan beef stock
Salt and black pepperto taste
Instructions
Meatballs
Add the milled flaxseeds and water to a bowl and mix to hydrate the flaxseeds. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 180°C
Roughly chop the onion and garlic and add to a blender or food processor. Clean and roughly chop the mushrooms and also add to the blender.
Add the milled flax seeds when they have been sitting for at least 5 minutes together with the rest of the ingredients for the meatballs. Blend into a roughly homogeneous texture. Some lumps of mushrooms or beans are ok. The mixture should easily form into a ball when rolled in a spoon or in your hands.
Wet your hand then roll the meatball mixture into 20 evenly sized meatballs using roughly a heaped tablespoon for each.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the meatballs on it.
Place in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden all over. Turn the meatballs halfway through cooking.
Sauce
Melt the butter with the oil in a pan over medium heat, once hot add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, around 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and cloves and continue to cook for a further 1 minute.
Add the raisins, brown sugar and Sirop de Liège and stir to combine everything. Continue to cook until the sugar coats the onions and is thick and sticky, around 2 minutes.
Pour in the dark Belgian ale, stir to combine then bring to a gentle simmer. Continue to cook until the ale has reduced by half, around 5 minutes.
Add the red wine vinegar and the vegan beef stock and continue to cook until reduced to a glossy thick sauce, around 5 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning. The amount of salt needed will depend on the salt levels in the vegan beef stock. Remove the sprigs of thyme, bay leaves and cloves before serving.
Boulet à la Liégeoise
Once the meatballs and sauce are ready add the meatballs to the sauce and coat well. Serve with chips (fries).