Eggplant chicken meatballs with tzatziki

Serves: 4

Time to make: 40 mins

Total cost: $13.12 / $3.28 per serve

(at time of publication)

Ingredients

olive oil spray
½ medium (250g) eggplantaubergineX, cut in 1cm cubes
480g lean chicken mince
1 lemon, 1 teaspoon zest
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 ½ cups tomato passata
Tzatziki
1 medium-sized cucumber
200g tub low-fat plain yoghurt
5 tablespoons reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed
¼ teaspoon dried mint

Instructions

1 Spray a large frying pan with oil. Add eggplant and cook over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until very soft. Add 1 tablespoon water to pan every few minutes to stop eggplant from sticking and to help cooking. Cool. (This can be done a day in advance.)

2 In a mixing bowl place chicken, lemon zest, mint, chives and cooked eggplant. Mix using hands and shape mixture into 20 walnut-sized balls.

3 Spray a large frying pan with oil. Brown meatballs until golden. Pour passata around meatballs and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and cover with a tight-fitting lid or piece of foil. Simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes or until cooked.

4 Meanwhile, to make tzatziki, grate cucumber and squeeze out excess liquid. Place yoghurt and ricotta in a bowl and beat together with garlic and mint until smooth. Fold through grated cucumber. Serve with meatballs and a green salad.

Nutrition Info (per serve)

Kilojoules 1030kJ

Calories 246cal

Protein 30g

Total fat 9g

–Saturated fat 3g

Carbohydrates 10g

–Sugars 10g

Dietary fibre 4g

Sodium 300mg

Calcium 200mg

Iron 3mg

Note: Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. For a guide to purchasing healthier packaged goods and general grocery items see here.