Vegan Soutzoukakia made with Banana Skins

As I am writing the title of the recipe I burst out laughing...

I mean really... Soutzoukakia made with Banana skin? This is weird...

Soutzoukakia is a great Greek dish. It is like elongated meatballs that are usually made from lamb mince, loaded with cumin and after they are fried they are dunked in a nice velvety tomato sauce and usually served over rice.

So... to take this dish and turn it vegan is one thing. But if instead of mince you use banana skin then the whole thing almost goes to a new level of absurdity...

And yet... no... actually it turns out quite delicious.

I was looking online for interesting recipes and came across a vegan meatball recipe from Brazil made from banana skin.. I was taken aback but the whole thing seemed to be so interesting that I went along and read it all.

So the woman was saying that for thousands of years the native people in Brazil have been using banana peel for many recipes. And that actually it is loaded with nutrients like vit C...

I do not know if you had ever tried a banana peel, but it is VERY bitter. I had tried it and so I was very sceptical but the lady was saying that you remove the "pith" of the peel and that is the bitter bit.

So, I decided to give it a try... and I did. And it turned out great!

But because I was not sure if I thought that it was great and other people would think differently I called my brother and asked him to drop by and give him some food for the evening. He really loves Soutzoukakia and so he was at my place within minutes..

I had a bowl ready for him but wanted to see with my own eyes his reaction so I asked him to take a bite just to make sure that it was ok etc etc.. And he did and he loved it...

Then I told him that it is actually vegan.. and he asks what is it instead of meat. And I replied that it is banana peel.. OK he says and he goes home with his bowl... :-)

So boys and girls this is what we will need:

And do not forget to check the pictures.. you will find a lot of info in them.

Diffuculty: 2 of 3

Duration:40 mins prep, one hour freezing time and 30 minutes cooking

Serves:2-3

Ingredients

For the Soutzoukakia

2 tblsp. powdered linseed

4-5 tblsp water

peel from 3 bananas

1 average onion finely cut

1 clove of garlic finely cut

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup bread crumbs

a bit more water if needed

For the sauce

3 tblsp olive oil

1 average onion minced

1 clove of garlic minced

400 g tin can of tomato sauce

70 g tomato paste

salt and pepper

a bit of basil

1 glass of water

And rice to serve

Method

Easy recipe with a few tricky bits

For the Soutzoukakia

In a small bowl we mix the linseed and water and wait for it to become like a gel.

Meanwhile we proceed with removing the ends of the banana peels and removing the pith using a spoon or the back of a knife.

We finely chop the peel and add it in a bowl together with the rest of the ingredients for the soutzoukakia plus the linseed and water paste.

Mix well using your hands and if it is all too dry you can add a bit of water in order to have the right consistency.

We place the mixture in the fridge for at least an hour up to a night. This is REALLY important and do not skip this as otherwise the soutzoukakia will dissolve in the sauce.

During which time we will prepare our sauce.

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil, add the paste and the tomato sauce, herbs, salt and pepper, water and bring to a boil and let it simmer while we form our "meatballs".

Using a few drops of olive oil on our hands before forming each Soutzoukaki will make things a lot easier. You want to give them the shape of an elongated meatball.

You will end up with 13 to 14 medium sized soutzoukakia.

You can fry them in olive oil for a few minutes or bake them before adding them to the sauce.. or if you want to avoid that you can add them immediately after forming.

The last thing that you need to keep in mind is that after you add them to the sauce you do not move them, do not check to see if they are cooked and the sauce must be just simmering lightly...

Otherwise they will crumble in the sauce...

You simmer them for 25-30 minutes with the lid on and remove them onto a plate carefully afterwards if the sauce is too thin and you want to boil it a bit more to thicken it.

Otherwise you just serve them over rice...