This post was created in partnership with Ancestry. All opinions are our own. Remember our AncestryDNA results a few months ago? Alex and I were interested to find that our heritage wasn’t exactly what we thought! And it sparked a ton of fun conversation within our families. Now, we’re back with some updates: this Norwegian vegetarian meatballs recipe and info about the new Traits feature in AncestryDNA! Even though I’m nearly half Norwegian, we’ve never posted a Norway inspired recipe on A Couple Cooks—so we’re fixing that now. Want vegan instead? Try our Easy Vegan Meatballs.
AncestryDNA Traits
A few months ago Alex and I sent a spit sample to the Ancestry lab to analyze our DNA. We got back some interesting results! And it sparked a really fun conversation in both Alex and my families about our heritage. Now that we’ve tried them, we think AncestryDNA kits would be fantastic holiday gifts to help you connect with your family. And this season, Ancestry is offering a brand new feature called Traits. Alex and I got to try out Traits to show you how it works! Traits is a fun and easy add-on feature to discover how your DNA influences the traits that you’ve inherited from your ancestors and share with people all over the world. There are two categories: Appearance traits (like freckles, hair color, male hair loss, unibrow) and Sensory traits (like bitter / savory taste perception and cilantro aversion). You can use the Traits feature to compare traits you share with your family who have also purchased the Traits feature, and then what region of the world your traits may come from. Are you wondering what Alex and my traits are? Or hungry for vegetarian meatballs? Keep reading.
Our Traits
Using the Traits feature has already again, sparked some fun conversation within our families. For example: not liking cilantro is a genetic trait! Do you think you have it? Both my parents do, since we get dirty looks every time we sprinkle cilantro! Keep reading for some of Alex and my interesting traits: Alex’s Traits:
Cleft chin: Yes. This was spot on!Male hair loss: No. Looks like his silver locks are here for a while.Cilantro aversion: No. Which explains why we eat so much cilantro!Bitter taste perception: Sensitive. Alex can taste bitter very strongly (and loves bitter flavors like coffeeand celery).Savory taste perception: Not sensitive. Meaning, Alex needs lots of savory in order to taste it…which is exactly the case with these Norwegian vegetarian meatballs with vegetarian gravy.
Sonja’s Traits:
Freckles: Yes! And it was spot on. I’ve never loved my freckles, but knowing they’re a genetic marker just like anything else makes them more interesting.Cilantro aversion: Also no, like Alex! Luckily he and I match here and make many delicious recipes with cilantro.Bitter taste perception: Extra sensitive. I’m a “taster” of bitter flavors. The Traits app predicted I’d shy away from Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and kale–but these are some of my favorite foods!Savory taste perception: Not sensitive…which also matches Alex! Luckily our palates are a perfect match, which helps to explain why we work so well together developing recipes.
How to get AncestryDNA?
You can purchase AncestryDNA with Traits for yourself or as a gift for $119 ($99 basic kit + $19.99 for traits). Existing AncestryDNA customers can upgrade to this new feature for $19.99. Click here to order. And stay tuned for a huge Black Friday sale coming, too.
How to make vegetarian meatballs
So, what’s this got to do with vegetarian meatballs with gravy? My AncestryDNA results show my top DNA region at 53% is Norwegian. It even shows the very exact regions in Norway! This heritage is from my mom’s side. I grew up making only one Norwegian recipe around the holidays (lefse!), but otherwise Norwegian foods have not influenced the way I eat. This vegetarian meatballs recipe is the first Norway inspired recipe here on A Couple Cooks. Now, this recipe is not authentic Norwegian: simply Norway inspired. Since Alex and I eat mainly vegetarian, we wanted to find a way to take this classic Scandinavian dish and make it meatless. So, we’ve created these simple vegetable chickpea meatballs—which are actually also vegan—using frozen mixed veggies you can get at any grocery store and chickpeas. Because it can be somewhat time consuming to make vegetarian meatballs, we’ve simplified the process quite a bit. And in honor of the Savory (umami) detection Traits feature, we brought in all the savory elements to up that savory flavor, covering the vegetarian meatballs is in a salty, savory vegetarian gravy. It’s so good that we’re already dying to make it again. Serve it with a grain like quinoa and a refreshing salad like this shaved Brussels sprouts salad. It’s perfect for entertaining, like a cozy dinner party, Thanksgiving, or Christmas dinner! Meatballs before baking: a 2 teaspoon cookie scoop (size 60) is very helpful for shaping! See the recipe below.
Make it vegan!
This vegetarian meatballs recipe is easy to make vegan because: surprise! The meatballs are already vegan! There’s no dairy in the vegetarian meatballs, since they’re made of chickpeas, veggies and flour. So all you need is a vegan gravy recipe! We’ve specified to use our Easy Vegan Gravy, which is a brown gravy like the type you’d use on mashed potatoes or Swedish meatballs. Another option is our Vegan Mushroom Gravy, which has chunks of mushrooms and is more of a country gravy. We use this gravy in our Vegan Biscuits and Gravy: but it would be just as tasty with these meatballs.
Looking for more comfort food recipes?
Outside of these Norwegian inspired vegetarian meatballs, here are a few more comfort food recipes:
This vegetarian meatballs recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant based and dairy free (with vegan gravy option listed below). For gluten free, try Gluten Free 1 for 1 flour. No reviews
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, peas and green beans) 15-ounce can chickpeas 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon ground black pepper ½ cup whole wheat flour (for gluten free, try Gluten Free 1 for 1 flour)
To serve
Perfect Vegetarian Gravy or Easy Vegan Gravy (double recipe) Chopped Italian parsley
