Greek-style turkey meatball grain bowl with spelt and tzatziki
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 10 to 30 mins
- Serve
- Serves 4
- Dietary
- Nut-freePregnancy-friendly
Turkey meatballs for the win – high in protein, no red meat and just as tasty and easy to cook. Store the elements separately and these grain bowls keep well in the fridge for a few days making them perfect for meal prep lunches.
Each serving provides 595 kcal, 43.6g protein, 54.3g carbohydrate (of which 11.5g sugars), 20.5g fat (of which 6.6g saturates), 9.1g fibre and 2.03g salt.
Ingredients
For the turkey meatballs
- 1 small red onion, grated
- ½ courgette (about 80g/2¾oz), grated
- 500g/1lb 2oz turkey thigh mince
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 60g/2¼oz breadcrumbs
- 1 free-range egg
- 20g/¾oz fresh flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
- 10g fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing or spraying
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the spelt
For the tzatziki
- ½ small cucumber, grated
- 200g/7oz Greek-style yoghurt
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- ½ small cucumber, roughly chopped
- 12–16 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Method
To make the meatballs, preheat the oven to 210C/190C Fan/Gas 6½ and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Put the grated onion and courgette in a muslin cloth or clean tea towel and squeeze out any excess liquid over a sink.
Transfer the onion and courgette to a large bowl. Add the turkey mince, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, dill, oregano, oil, salt and pepper. Mix gently with your hands until everything is evenly combined and slightly sticky.
With damp hands, roll the turkey mixture into around 18–20 small meatballs.
Arrange on the tray with space between each meatball and lightly brush or spray with oil.
Bake for 18–20 minutes, turning once halfway, or until lightly golden and cooked through.
Meanwhile cook the spelt. Put the spelt in a saucepan of boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions. Drain well.
Return to the pan and, while still hot, stir through the oil, lemon zest and lemon juice, adding the juice to taste. Cover and set aside.
To make the tzatziki, put the cucumber in a muslin cloth or a clean tea towel and squeeze out any excess liquid over a sink.
Mix the cucumber, yoghurt, garlic, oil, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, dill and parsley in a bowl and season with black pepper. Taste and season again with salt and pepper if desired.
Spoon the spelt mixture onto plates (or into bowls), top with the turkey meatballs and finish with a generous dollop of tzatziki.
Serve with extra herbs, a squeeze of lemon and the chopped tomatoes and cucumbers.
Recipe tips
Turkey thigh mince is normally 7–8% fat, higher than turkey breast mince, but still pretty low and it keeps the meatballs nice and juicy.
If you can't get hold of dry spelt, you can substitute brown rice, pearl barley, or pre-cooked spelt. All of these will work well and still provide a good source of fiber.
