Chicken Merguez Meatballs with Couscous and Griddled Vegetables

Serves	4
Prep time	45 minutes
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	1 hours, 15 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Milk
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Barbecue, Casual Party
Region	Moroccan
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

Delicious Moroccan inspired baked meatballs served with spicy and aromatic griddled veggies and couscous; this tasty meal is only 293 calories per serving, making it an ideal main meal for anyone following the 5:2 Fast Diet. It also comes in a wonderfully low 6 WW Smart Points per serving, so it's a real winner for all those who want a flavoursome and exciting meal whilst trying to lose weight!

Ingredients

4 slices brown bread, torn into pieces (use a low calorie bread such as Danish or Weight Watcher's bread)
100ml skimmed milk
400g skinless chicken breasts, diced
1 free range egg, beaten
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced
1 tablespoon harissa paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
low-fat cooking spray (such as Fry Light)
500ml chicken stock
150g giant or coarse couscous
2 courgettes, sliced into long ribbons (I used a swivel head potato peeler)
1 large red pepper, trimmed, de-seeded and thinly sliced
1 large red onion, peeled and cut into thin wedges
juice of 1 lemon, plus extra lemon wedges to serve
150g fat-free natural yogurt (such as Greek yogurt)
3 tablespoons freshly chopped mint leaves (plus extra mint leaves to garnish)

Note

Directions

Step 1	Soak the bread in the milk for 10 to 15 minutes. Pulse the diced chicken in a food processor until roughly chopped. Add the soaked bread, egg, garlic, harissa paste, 1/2 teaspoon of the ground cumin, the fennel seeds and all of the ground coriander. Season with salt and pepper, and process for a further minute until the mixture is smooth, but still retains some texture.
Step 2	Wet your hands, (this stops the mixture from sticking to your fingers) and shape the mixture into 20 meatballs. The mixture will be very soft, but don't worry, as it will firm up. Place the meatballs on a lined baking tray and place them in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes.
Step 3	Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6. Take the meatballs out of the freezer and spray some of the low-calorie cooking spray over them (I used Fry Light olive oil). Then bake them in the pre-heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are cooked through and golden brown.
Step 4	Whilst the meatballs are cooking, bring the stock to a boil and add the couscous; bring back to the boil and cook for a further 5 to 6 minutes, stirring all the time, then drain it and set it aside.
Step 5	Heat a large griddle pan over medium to high heat and mist it with some low-calorie cooking spray; Add the courgette ribbons, peppers and onion wedges in a single layer, and mist them with more of the low-calorie cooking spray. Griddle the vegetables for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, you will need to to this in batches, unil they are all cooked, are tender and just charred around the edges.
Step 6	Toss the griddled vegetables with the couscous and the lemon juice and spoon it onto a large serving platter. Mix the yogurt with the chopped mint leaves and the remaining ground cumin. Arrange the meatballs on top of the vegetables and couscous, garnishing with the mint leaves and serve immediately with the the yogurt and lemon wedges on the side.