Spiced chicken meatballs, haydari salad and flatbreads
Recipe for a spiced Middle Eastern-style dish with chicken meatballs, haydari (Turkish yoghurt and feta dip) topped with a crisp, lightly spiced chickpea salad, and pan-fried flatbreads.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
Spiced chicken meatballs / Chicken frikadeller
- 500 g minced chicken
- 50 g feta
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 1 handful parsley, finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp pine nuts, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
- 1/2 fresh chilli, finely chopped (seeds removed)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Oil for shaping the meatballs
Haydari dip
- 1/2 l Turkish yoghurt (or Greek yoghurt, ideally 10% fat)
- 100 g feta
- 4 cloves garlic, – use just 2-3 if you prefer it less strong
- 1 handful dill, finely chopped
- 1 handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Chickpea salad
- 1/2 tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 bell pepper, cut into small dice
- 1/2 cucumber, cut into chunky dice
- 14 cherry tomatoes, cut into smaller pieces
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced – use only the green part
- 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
- 2 handfuls flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 handful pine nuts, preferably toasted
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 pinches cumin, ground
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
To serve
- 1 batch pan-fried flatbreads - click here
Instructions
Spiced chicken meatballs - Chicken frikadeller
- Mix the minced chicken and salt together thoroughly, – ideally with a hand mixer.
- Add the remaining ingredients, – onion, garlic, parsley, crumbled feta, spices, pine nuts, egg and breadcrumbs.Add the finely chopped chilli too, but always taste it first. It may be very hot, so that only 1/4 is needed, or it may need a little more.
- Season with pepper and mix the meat mixture thoroughly again.
- Shape the mixture into meatballs, – I made mine about 35 g each.Dip a tablespoon in a little oil, then shape the meatballs in your hand with the help of the spoon. This gives the meatballs a coating of oil, which gives them a lovely golden finish in the oven, – and it also makes them much easier to handle.Place the meatballs on a baking tray lined with baking parchment as you go.
- Bake the spiced chicken meatballs in a preheated oven at 200°C, conventional oven (top and bottom heat), for about 18-22 minutes. Turn them once along the way if you like, – and always check that they are cooked through.You can also cook them in an air fryer, – about 12 minutes at 190°C, – shaking the basket once or twice along the way. The chicken meatballs can of course also be fried in a pan.
Haydari
- Crush or finely grate the garlic and mix it with the yoghurt and the finely chopped herbs.
- Crumble the feta into it, season with pepper and leave it to stand while you make the salad. Then taste to see whether it needs salt, – usually it doesn't, as the feta provides the saltiness.
- Spread your haydari dip in a thick layer on a plate, serving board or similar.
Chickpea salad
- Combine all the chopped vegetables in a bowl, – drained chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, bell pepper, red onion and the green tops of the spring onions.
- Pour over the olive oil, lemon juice and cumin, toss everything well together and season the salad with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Spoon the chickpea salad onto the plate with the haydari, top with toasted pine nuts and drizzle with a little olive oil.
Spiced chicken meatballs, haydari salad and flatbreads
- Serve the hot spiced chicken meatballs and the haydari salad with fresh pan-fried flatbreads.