Ingredients
- 500 g turkey mince (you can substitute
chicken mince) - 1 clove garlic - finely chopped or crushed
- 1 red onion (small) peeled and finely diced
- 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves (finely diced) or
- parsley leaves
- 1 carrot - finely grated
- 1 zucchini - finely grated
- 1 free-range or organic egg/s - lightly
beaten - 1 lemon – zest
- 30 g fresh breadcrumbs (¼ cup) - see below for gluten-free
- 100 g feta cheese - crumbled or cubed (see below for dairy free)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- In a large mixing bowl or food processor, simply mix all of the ingredients together until they are combined well.
- Then choose your preferred dish from the options below.
- Sometimes, I'll use half of the mix for sausage rolls and the other half, is made into meatballs for the next day's lunch boxes.
Thermomix Method
- If you need to, make your breadcrumbs from a frozen slice of bread, 10 seconds, speed 6. Set aside.
- Add your garlic, onion (halved), mint or parsley, carrot and zucchini (chunks) and chop, 10 seconds, speed 5.
- Add the mince, breadcrumbs, egg, lemon zest, feta and seasoning and combine on reverse, 20-30 seconds, speed 3 (you may need to scrape the sides to help it along).
Mini-meatballs
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F (fan-forced).
- With damp hands, roll small balls and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through and browning on top. Serve warm or cold.
Sausage rolls
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F (fan-forced).
- Beat one egg in a cup with a tablespoon of milk.
- Take a sheet of all-butter puff or shortcrust pastry and cut it in half (or better still make your own pastry). Careme brand have a fabulous wholemeal spelt puff pastry that is my personal favourite.
- Place the mince mixture along the centre of each half. Brush one edge of the pastry with the egg wash and fold the pastry over the mince.
- Place on a baking tray (seam side down). Top with a little more egg wash and sprinkleover sesame seeds.
- Cut into approximately 5cm long rolls and bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve warm.
- Perfect party food or for a picnic or weekend lunch.
Tip
For green phobic kids, peel the zucchini and omit the parsley/mint (or just process it very finely so it can't be detected).
Make-ahead
Allow to defrost fully before re-heating/ cooking. Re-heat in a low oven until just hot.
Store
Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. All options can be frozen either raw or cooked.