Name: Chicken and Kale Balls
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 50 g/2 oz trimmed kale 100g/4 oz fresh breadcrumbs 500 g/1 lb 1oz skinless, boneless chicken thighs, chopped 100 g/4 oz carrots, peeled and grated 1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh root ginger 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice 1 teaspoon soy sauce 4 tablespoon plain flour 3 tablespoon rapeseed, sunflower or light olive oil

Chicken and Kale Balls

When my son Nicholas was little and very fussy, my solution to encourage him to eat chicken was to blitz it in a food processor with other ingredients such as apple and form it into mini chicken balls. These Chicken and Kale Balls are a twist on my signature Chicken and Apple Balls recipe in my New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner, but this time using carrot and kale and adding some mild oriental flavours.

For more bite-size super-food inspiration, try these Chicken, Quinoa and Apple Balls

Dairy-free

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 8 - 10 mins if fried or 15 mins to bake

Makes: 25 Balls

Great for: Toddler Recipes , 12-18 Months , 18 Months-2 Years

Suitable for Freezing

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Ingredients

50 g/2 oz trimmed kale
100g/4 oz fresh breadcrumbs
500 g/1 lb 1oz skinless, boneless chicken thighs, chopped
100 g/4 oz carrots, peeled and grated
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh root ginger
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon soy sauce
4 tablespoon plain flour
3 tablespoon rapeseed, sunflower or light olive oil

Method

Cook the kale in a pan of boiling water for 4 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold running water. Squeeze out the water and finely chop the kale.
Place the chicken thighs in the bowl of a food processor with the breadcrumbs and blitz until roughly chopped (you don’t want it too fine).
Transfer to a bowl. Add the chopped kale and the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Shape the mixture into 25 equal-sized balls.
Place the flour on a large plate and roll each ball in the flour. Heat the oil in frying pan and fry the balls 8-10 minutes (in 2-3 batches) until golden and cooked through.
Alternatively preheat an oven to 180C / 160C Fan and cook the chicken balls for about 15 minutes turning halfway through until cooked through