#moroccanmeatballs

A big trend at the moment is to substitute cous cous, which is a traditional North African cuisine made up of semolina (granules of durum wheat), with cauliflower. My favourite part of cooking with cous cous is that it is such a speedy process. Cauliflower takes a comparable time to cook, but the benefits of cauliflower are much better! Cauliflower has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties (can help decrease chronic inflammation that leads to conditions such as arthritis, chronic pain and bowel conditions). The veggie also contains a whole lot of vitamins, particularly B group vitamins, assisting with the nervous system and energy production. I served my cous cous with some simple moroccan meatballs for a winter meal. But I also think it would be fantastic dressed up with some herbs, celery, walnuts and maybe even some dried fruit to add a bit of sweetness.

Cauliflower CousCous

1 cauliflower

1 teaspoon rice bran oil

salt and pepper

1. Remove the florets from the cauliflower and pop into a food processor (leaving behind stems). Pulse cauliflower in a food processor until it’s “riced” (ie, the size of couscous). Careful not to overmix, you don’t want to puree the cauliflower at all.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add the cauliflower “couscous” and a few good pinches of salt. Let it gently toast for a minute or so and stir. You are trying to keep the couscous white, careful not to toast it, just to dry it out. Pop it into a cold pan or plate and fluff up with a folk.

Moroccan meatballs

500g chicken or lamb mince

40g quinoa flour

1 small brown onion, coarsely grated

1/3 cup chopped fresh coriander

Moroccan spices- I used 1 tspn cumin, 1 tspn smoked paprika, 1/2 tspn ground coriander, 1/2 tspn nutmeg 

salt and pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil 

1. Combine all ingredients for meatballs and roll into balls- about the size of 2 tablespoons.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add half the meatballs at a time, browning for 5 minutes, set aside.

For the Sauce

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, chopped finely

1 x 400g can Chopped Tomatoes

125ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock

1/2 cup red wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato, paste, wine and stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-10minutes. Add the meatballs, reduce to low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.