Hailey Bieber’s Chicken Cottage Cheese Meatballs

Ingredients

• 500 g lean chicken mince (around 5% fat)
• 0.5 lemon zest (zest of ½ lemon)
• 1 egg
• 60 g breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 garlic (cloves, minced (for meatballs))
• 1 tbsp cottage cheese (big heaped; for the meatballs)
• salt (generously, for the meatball mixture; plus a pinch for the onion and additional seasoning for the sauce)
• black pepper (to season the meatball mixture)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (for the sauce)
• 1 brown onion (finely diced)
• 2 garlic (cloves, minced (for the sauce))
• 1 red chilli (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp tomato purée (heaped)
• 400 g chopped tomatoes (1 tin)
• 400 g passata
• 1 fresh basil (a large handful; torn, plus more to serve)
• Parmesan (generous grating to finish, plus extra to serve)
• cottage cheese (a dollop to serve)
• sourdough (toasted, optional accompaniment for mopping up the sauce)
• rocket (a handful, optional side)

Steps

1. 1

   Add the chicken mince, lemon zest, egg, breadcrumbs, dried oregano, minced garlic and cottage cheese to a large bowl. Season generously with salt and black pepper, then mix just until combined.

2. 2

   With wet hands, roll the mixture into 12 meatballs.

3. 3

   Air-fry the meatballs at 210°C for 10–12 minutes, turning them halfway, until browned. They do not need to be fully cooked yet. Alternatively, cook them under a very hot grill until nicely browned.

4. 4

   Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.

5. 5

   Add the finely diced onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes, until soft.

6. 6

   Add the minced garlic and chopped chilli; cook for 1 minute.

7. 7

   Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1–2 minutes, until it turns a deeper red.

8. 8

   Pour in the chopped tomatoes and passata. Season well, then simmer for about 10 minutes, until slightly reduced.

9. 9

   Nestle the browned meatballs into the sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until cooked through.

10. 10

    Finish the meatballs with torn fresh basil and a generous grating of Parmesan.

11. 11

    Serve with a dollop of cottage cheese, extra Parmesan and more basil. The author suggests toasted sourdough for mopping up the sauce and a handful of rocket on the side; pasta is also suggested as an alternative accompaniment.

Notes

The source states 4 servings, approximately 400 kcal and 40 g protein per serving. It gives no quantity for the finishing Parmesan, serving cottage cheese, or optional accompaniments. The description gives an air-fryer method or a very hot grill alternative, but no grill cooking duration. Pasta is suggested as an accompaniment but not included as a measured ingredient.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• high-protein
• summer
• air-fried
• tomato sauce
• chicken
• gluten-containing
• dairy