Green Meatballs w/ Rice & Lentil Pilaf

My family loves meatballs, and these were perfect with this week’s cilantro sauce. I love to braise Italian meatballs in a red sauce, but that doesn’t exactly fit here. These just have a quick bake, and more flavor and moisture will be added with good sauces. For sauces, baba ghanoush, this week’s cilantro sauce, hummus and tzatziki are all great options!

Rice typically takes longer to cook than lentils, but as long as you’ve rinsed and soaked the rice for at least 15-30 minutes prior to cooking, it will take the same amount of time to cook. If you feel better about cooking them separately, go ahead! There is about a 2:1 ratio of rice to lentils and can be done up to two days in advance. I sautéed the rice and lentils a bit with some oil from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes.