Minty Chicken Meatballs
Inspired by techniques from Bon Appétit.
A blender paste of mint, onion, garlic and jalapeño is worked hard into chicken mince until it turns almost like a sausage forcemeat, so the meatballs hold together without egg-and-breadcrumb filler doing all the work. They're served warm over a garlicky lemon-yoghurt sauce with sliced cucumber, more like a mezze platter than a plate of meatballs and spaghetti.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Blend the aromatics. Finely chop enough mint leaves to make 2 tbsp and set aside for the sauce; reserve a few whole leaves for serving. Put the remaining mint in a blender or food processor with the egg, onion, garlic cloves, jalapeño, fine salt, pepper and the oil for blending. Blend until mostly smooth with no visible pieces of onion.
- 2
Hydrate the breadcrumbs. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and mix in the breadcrumbs. Let sit for 5 min.
- 3
Mix in the chicken and shape. Add the chicken mince and mix thoroughly and aggressively with your hands until evenly combined and almost paste-like - don't worry about overworking it, as this helps the meatballs hold their shape. Scoop out 60 ml portions and roll into balls.
- 4
Brown the meatballs. Heat the oil for cooking in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Cook the meatballs, turning often to brown on all sides and help them keep their shape (reduce the heat if they brown too quickly), until cooked through and a thermometer inserted into the centre reads 74 °C, 9-12 min.
- 5
Make the sauce and assemble. Whisk the grated garlic clove, yoghurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, the oil for the sauce, the remaining fine salt and the reserved chopped mint in a small bowl. Taste and add more salt if needed. Toss the cucumbers with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of oil. Spread the sauce over a platter, arrange the meatballs and cucumbers on top, scatter with the reserved mint leaves and drizzle with more oil.
Storage
Keep the meatballs and yoghurt sauce separate; refrigerate both within 2 hours and eat within 3 days. Reheat meatballs until piping hot before serving over the chilled sauce. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Why this label?
26.5 g protein for 498 kcal = 5.3 g per 100 kcal, so protein gives about 21% of the energy. High Protein needs at least 20% (5 g per 100 kcal), the condition in the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
EU nutrition claims
- Low sugars: 2.3 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 247 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- blender or food processor
- fine grater
- large bowl
- small bowl
- medium frying pan
- instant-read thermometer
- platter
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 498 kcal |
| Protein | 26.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 21.7 g |
| of which sugars | 5.7 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 34.6 g |
| of which saturates | 7.3 g |
| Fibre | 2.5 g |
| Salt | 2.28 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
5.3 g meets High Protein (≥ 5 g, 20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
