Vegetarian Meatballs

Makes about 24 small meatballs

My daughter has a friend who does not eat meat or dairy, so the prospect of spaghetti and meatballs when she came to visit seemed fraught with disappointment for her: everyone else happily wolfing-down chunks of meatball with a forkfull of saucy pasta. My mission: can I create a suitably-delicious meatless ball that also includes no cheese products? A satisfying veggieball?

Vegetables:

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 10 oz button mushrooms, caps
• 2 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
• 1/2 an onion, in quarters (unpeeled)
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 200 g canned chickpeas, drained

Veggieball filler:

• 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
• 1 c panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tsp oregano, dried
• 1/2 tsp basil, dried
• 2 tbsp nutrional yeast flake
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flake
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp hickory smoke