Greek chickpea & zucchini balls
Oven-baked chickpea balls with zucchini (courgettes) and carrots
Ingredients
- 1 400g can chickpeas drained and mashed with a fork (NB do not blend, it will become too sloppy)
- 200 g grated courgettes or baby marrows (1 large courgette) as much of the moisture squeezed out as possible (use your hands or a clean tea towel)
- 100 g grated carrots (1 medium carrot)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup oats
- 1/2 tsp salt
- a few grinds of black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 Tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, very finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
- OPTIONAL 1 round of feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 C (180 C with fan on)
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Start with the chickpeas, mashing them with fork in the mixing bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients. Make sure that you squeeze the water out of the courgettes, else your end product will be a bit flimsy.
- Form the batter into balls using a small ice-cream scoop or your hands, place on a prepared baking tray, then bake for approximately 30 minutes (until golden brown).
- Serve! They work very well as part of a bowl meal with grilled veggies, fresh herbs or leaves, a whole-grain carb, and tzatziki or plain Greek yoghurt.
Notes
Makes about 16 balls (golf-ball sized). Serve 4 - 6 balls per person with some sides.
Nutritional info per serving (1/4 of the recipe): 133 kcal; 3.4 g fat; 18.5 g carbohydrate; 4.3 g fiber; 7.4 g protein.