My regular lunch buddy is out for lunch today, so I’ve taken the opportunity to make something I’ve been craving.
He’s not a fan of fennel but I’ve had an urge to make these for ages, full of fennel and pepper, just like the homemade sausages my mum used to make.
This is one of the many recipes I created when I followed the 90 Day Plan by The Body Coach. Simply use your plans ingredient amounts instead of those shown in the recipe. There are 220 Create Your Own (CYO) friendly recipes in my app and on this website.
Ingredients for 1 serving
| 176 g | extra lean beef mince | 95 g | courgette, sliced length ways | 46 g | onions, finely chopped | 6 g | olive oil | 3 g | fennel seeds | 66 g | mozzarella, cut into small pieces | 48 ml | sweet chilli sauce | 149 g | mixed salad leaves | salt and pepper | cocktail sticks |
Method
- Pre-heat your oven to 190°C fan/400°F and line a baking sheet with non stick foil.
- Arrange your courgette slices on the tray, sprinkle with salt and brush with olive oil.
- Bake in the oven for approximately 7 minutes to soften them.
- Put the mince into a bowl, add the onion, salt, lots of black pepper and the fennel seeds.
- Give the mince a good mix with your hands for a minute or so to incorporate the ingredients.
- Portion the mince mixture according to the number of courgette slices you have.
- When the courgettes are ready, take them out of the oven.
- Put a slice onto a chopping board, take a ball of the mince mixture and press a piece of mozzarella into the middle.
- In the centre of the courgette, place a piece of mozzarella, then the mince ball, then another piece of mozzarella on top, wrap the courgette around the ball and squash it if necessary to get a good join, and secure with a cocktail stick.
- Repeat until you’ve used all your ingredients and bake in the oven for around 20 minutes.
- The balls are cooked when they feel firm to the touch.
- When they’re ready, remove them from the oven and arrange them on a plate with the salad leaves and a blob of sweet chilli sauce.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure your mince is extra lean, less than 5% of fat per 100g.
- For those on 2018 BC plans, sweet chilli sauce is a swap for other side sauces provided you choose one with equivalent macros.
- This recipe works really well with aubergine instead of courgette.
- If you’re not a fan of fennel, this recipe also works really well with dried thyme.
- It used to be common place to salt aubergines to draw out any bitterness, but providing your aubergines are fresh there is no need to salt them before cooking.
Find me on: Web
