Oriental Chickpea Balls

Ingredients

• 800 g Cooked and drained chickpeas (Use canned chickpeas or homemade cooked ones)
• 1 unit Red onion (Finely diced)
• 2 tablespoon Tomato paste
• 100 g Breadcrumbs
• 2 unit Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Ras el hanout
• 0.5 teaspoon Ground cumin
• 0.5 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
• 30 g Fresh chopped parsley (A good handful)
• to taste Salt
• to taste Black pepper
• 3 tablespoon Olive oil (For brushing the balls and cooking the sauce)
• 400 g Tomato pulp (crushed tomatoes) (One 400 g can)
• 2 unit Garlic cloves (Crushed)
• 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
• 150 g Mozzarella (Cut into small dice)

Instructions

1. Prepare the ingredients

   Rinse the cooked chickpeas, drain them. Finely dice the red onion and chop the fresh parsley.

   Time: PT5M

2. Blend the ball mixture

   In the blender bowl, add the chickpeas, diced onion, tomato paste, breadcrumbs, eggs, ras el hanout, cumin, cinnamon, parsley, salt and pepper. Blend for a few seconds, without overworking, until you obtain a mixture with a few visible pieces.

   Time: PT3M

3. Shape the balls

   Using an ice‑cream scoop, take about 35 g of mixture and roll between the palms to form round balls. Repeat until you have 24 balls.

   Time: PT7M

4. Brush with olive oil

   Place the balls on a baking sheet and lightly brush them with olive oil using a brush.

   Time: PT2M

5. Preheat the oven

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C on convection mode.

   Time: PT5M

   Temperature: 180°C

6. Bake the balls

   Put the balls in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turning them halfway through to brown evenly.

   Time: PT25M

   Temperature: 180°C

7. Prepare the tomato sauce

   While the balls bake, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a saucepan. Add the remaining diced red onion and sauté for 5 minutes over high heat, stirring often. Stir in the tomato pulp, crushed garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix then let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring regularly until thickened.

   Time: PT20M

8. Remove the balls from the oven

   When the balls are golden, take them out of the oven and let them warm for 2 minutes.

   Time: PT2M

9. Plate the dish

   In a deep plate, place a few tablespoons of hot tomato sauce, add the mozzarella dice so they melt slightly, drizzle with a little olive oil, arrange the balls and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

   Time: PT5M

Nutrition Facts

Calories

921

Protein

50 g

Carbohydrates

114 g

Fat

20 g

Fiber

24 g