Turkey meatballs with bean chilli

Thursday 21 January at 2:31pm

Make friends with your local butcher and ask him to organise you some turkey mince if it’s not readily available in your supermarket. Of course, this can also be suitable for vegetarians, simply serve without the meatballs.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 large carrot, finely chopped1 onion, roughly chopped2 garlic cloves, peeled1 red chilli deseeded or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes500g lean chicken or turkey mince20g fresh breadcrumbs (from gluten-free English muffin if making gluten-free)1 egg1 tbsp dried Italian herbs1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the bean chilli:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil1 large onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed1 green pepper, deseeded and diced1 tsp ground cuminDash of Worcestershire sauce (leave out for gluten-free)3 tsp chipotle chilli paste300ml gluten-free chicken or vegetable stock400g can chopped tomatoes400g can black-eyed beans or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

*Green salad, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 200?C/gas mark 6, and cover a baking tray with baking parchment
To make the meatballs, pop the carrot, onion, garlic and chilli in a food-processor and blitz for a few seconds until finely minced. Transfer to a bowl and combine with the remaining ingredients, using your hands to mix everything together.
Shape the mixture into meatballs the size of ping-pong balls and place on the prepared baking tray
Bake for 30 minutes, then check the meatballs are no longer pink in the middle. Continue cooking for 5 minutes if they aren’t cooked through.
While the meatballs are baking, make the black bean chilli. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook gently for 4–5 minutes, until softened.
Add the garlic, green pepper, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, chipotle chilli paste, stock, tomatoes and beans. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
When you are ready to serve, put a big scoop of the black bean chilli in a bowl and serve the meatballs on top, with a big green salad on the side