Today I have for you an inspiration for yummy and healthy lunch or dinner. Alongside baked veggies, the table is ruled by chicken meatballs with quinoa. But what is actually quinoa? – you may ask. Although quinoa is usually categorised as a grain, it actually belongs to the same family as spinach. The little quinoa seeds are packed with valuable nutrients, such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and B vitamins (especially B6, folate, niacin and thiamine)1.
Servings: 4 (around 16 meatballs)
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
- 560 g chicken mince
- 200 g cooked quinoa (I used red one, but white or black quinoa is fine as well)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp marjoram
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- pinch salt
Sauce:
- 6 tsp dijon mustard
- 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp paprika
- baked cabbage (from this recipe)
- baked sweet potato (from this recipe)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- In a large bowl mix chicken mince, cooked quinoa, spices and garlic until well incorporated.
- Shape the mixture into balls and place on a baking tray.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime mix all ingredients for sauce.
- Once the meatballs are done, remove from the oven and serve with baked cabbage, sweet potatoes and sauce.
Tip:
- You can freeze meatballs before cooking and use later. Place raw meatballs on a tray or flat surface in the freezer covered with foil or baking paper. Freeze until hard, then pop into a ziplock bag and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you want to cook them, just remove from the freezer and let defrost overnight in the fridge. Fallow cooking instructions from the recipe.
References:
- Berkoff et al. 2013, “Foods that harm, Foods that heal”, p. 177-178
