Serves: 4

Ok, so this dish is unlikely to feature at Est. or Rockpool, though if you had it at a local café or bistro, properly seasoned, you probably wouldn’t have any qualms.

So why am I typing it up? Not because it’s easy and not because it contains mince, one of my favourite foods.

It’s here because it’s healthy, in so far that it has only 376 calories per serve, which in context of a normal, man’s daily diet of 2,500 calories, is a huge win! The dish is low in GI and it fills you up. Which for a weeknight dinner, is awesome, especially as it reheats up just fine the next night.

And it tastes good.

I adapted the recipe to make the meatballs a little more flavoursome by adding the red onion and chilli and you could cut out the avocado to save on a few more calories. Though the avocado/lime accoutrement adds a really nice visual flair, especially if you have friends around.

Just quick note regarding the canned cherry tomatoes. I hadn’t heard of cherry tomatoes in a can, though upon closer inspection, I was able to find a can of baby Roma tomatoes at Coles. If you can, find whole baby tomatoes as they present really well. Otherwise, any canned tomatoes will do.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 large yellow pepper (capsicum) diced
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp chilli paste (I used fresh chilli paste)
300ml chicken stock
400g can cherry tomatoes
400g can black beans or red kidney beans, drained
1 avocado, chopped
Juice ½ lime

Meatballs

500gm minced turkey breast
2 chillies, seeded and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
50g porridge oats
2 spring onions chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander
Good handful of coriander (stalks and leaves) chopped
1 tsp olive oil (or avocado oil, rapeseed oil)

Method

1. First, make the meatballs. Combine all of the meatball ingredients (except the olive oil) in a bowl and knead together until well mixed. Shape into 12 ping-pong sized balls.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the meatballs until golden brown, turning frequently. Remove from the pan.
3. Tip the onion, garlic and yellow pepper into the pan and cook, stirring, until softened. Stir in the cumin and chilli paste and then the stock. Return the meatballs to the pan, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan for about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomatoes and beans and cook, uncovered for a few more minutes.
5. In a bowl, toss the avocado chunks with the lime juice and serve the meatballs topped with the avocado and coriander leaves.