Not Your Nona’s Meatless Balls

Ingredients
1 cup red lentils
2 cups diced butternut squash
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2TBS EVOO (for sautéing)
3TBS tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
1 egg

Preparation
Boil red lentils in 2 cups of water until soft. Turn off heat and let cool with lid on. This will help them get mushy - you'll want them as soft as possible.

In a separate pot, sauté garlic and onion in EVOO, once soft, add the butternut squash. Cook until tender. Turn off heat and let cool.

Transfer lentils into the cooked veggies. Add tomato paste, bread crumbs, parmesan, basil, and salt and pepper. Stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Crack in egg and mix with your hands.

Roll into large golf-ball sized balls. Spray olive oil on sheet pan, place meatballs down. Brush tops with olive oil.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.