Chicken Halloumi & Quinoa Balls

Harry is only a few days off turning two and his dinners are fast becoming and extension of what we are eating, usually in the form of a deconstructed meal on a tasting plate. I was making some chicken and halloumi balls for us and wanted to try and make them a little healthier by packing in some more goodness. The quinoa is a perfect addition to these meatballs and the herbs and lemon give them a real zesty flavour. You can serve these on their own, or with a simple tomato sauce and some pasta – yum.

Nutrition Note: Halloumi cheese is very high in salt so be careful when using it in recipes for your children. Different brands contain varying amounts of sodium (salt) so remember to read labels, compare products and choose the product that is lowest in sodium.  With the products we used each meatball contains approximately 45 mg sodium. For younger babies you could try using ricotta as a lower sodium alternative to halloumi.

Note: The Adequate Intake (AI) for sodium for 7-12 months is 170 mg, for 1-3 year olds it is 200-400 mg/day and for 4-7 year olds it is 300-600 mg/day.

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Ingredients

• 1 red onion, diced
• 100g haloumi (choose the lowest in salt)
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 500g chicken breast or mince
• 4 sage leaves
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/4 cup multigrain breadcrumbs (or quinoa flakes)
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

Step 1

In a food processor combine the onion, haloumi, lemon zest and juice - process until finely chopped. Then add the chicken and sage and process until well combined. -

Step 2

Remove the processed mixture and place into a bowl. Stir through the cooked quinoa, breadcrumbs and egg. -

Step 3

Roll the mixture into small teaspoon sized meatballs. (You can flash freeze these raw at this point). -

Step 4

Heat the olive oil in a frypan over medium heat. Add the meatballs in batches and continue turning until all sides are golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. -