Braised chicken meatballs with cannelini beans

(serves 4)

Adapted from Gourmet Traveller

Brainstorming more legume recipes to feed the toddler and increase our repertoire of weekday meals. I thought this was actually delicious, but unfortunately it turned out to be another failed attempt at a toddler meal - no interest from the toddler ("I don't like it") *sigh* - even though she likes chicken, beans and cheese...?? Maybe it's the herbs...
Anyhow, still a good recipe, it doesn't even need much pasta actually (of course that was all the toddler ate) as the beans make it pretty substantial. I did enjoy using our home-grown vegetables though, yay to our broccoli and zucchini plant going strong :)

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

500 g chicken mince

60 g Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving 

50 g breadcrumbs 

1 egg

1 Tbsp dried thyme

500 mL chicken or vegetable stock
2 Tbsp olive oil

1 leek or onion

3 garlic cloves

1 zucchini
100 g green leaves (kale, silverbeet, or spinach)

800 g canned cannellini beans, drained, rinsed

1 tsp dried thyme 
300 g dried pasta, to serve

Method
1. To make the meatballs, combine the chicken mince, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, egg and thyme in a large bowl. Form meatballs with about 1 tablespoon of mixture and set aside on an oven tray.

2. Heat the stock in a saucepan until bubbling, then add the meatballs and cook covered for 5-8 minutes, flipping halfway. The meatballs should be just cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve the stock.

3. Finely chop the leek or onion, garlic and zucchini and greens.

Home-grown zucchini and broccoli and kale greens

4. Heat a deep saucepan with olive oil, then add the leek, garlic and zucchini and sauté for 5 minutes until soft. Add the beans and thyme and stir through then add in the reserved stock. Cook for 5 minutes on low heat, then add in the greens and cook for another few minutes until cooked. Add in the meatballs and reheat.

5. Cook the pasta according to instructions and serve alongside the meatballs and beans, with a sprinkle of Parmesan on top.