Sunshine No-meat Balls

With summer just around the corner in the northern hemisphere and very well installed in Provence (it's 38 Celsius here!), who wants to spend time in the kitchen behind the stove? Summer calls for simple recipes with the best ingredients possible. Think cucumber, tomatoes, watermelon and berries! And although I am not a proponent of raw kitchen all year long (find out why), this is the season of the year to try all those scrumptious raw recipes. This one is a makeover of Sunshine Burgers. No-meat balls can be eaten raw or for that special crunch baked in the oven.

Sunshine No-meat Balls

Ingredients:

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for at least 4 hours 1 cup cooked brown or red rice (I use Camargue red rice as it is locally grown) 2 tbsp ground flax seed 1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 tbsp. water

salt

Mix the sunflower seeds, brown rice, flax, parsley, water and salt in a blender and pulse till the ingredients are well mixed. At this point, test the texture. If it’s super thick and sticky, add another tbsp or two of water. If it’s moist enough, you’re done! Shape into balls. You can eat the balls raw or, for a special crunch, put on a cooking tray sprayed with ghee or coconut oil. Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes. Serve with zucchini noodles and homemade pesto.