Kid-friendly chicken meatball recipe with hidden vegetables

SERVES 4 

You will need:

10ml olive oil
350g button mushrooms, finely chopped
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
1 handful chives, finely chopped
125ml dried bread crumbs
1 egg
1 red onion, finely chopped
2ml salt
2ml pepper
4-6 baby marrows (to make noodles – you can use pasta if you prefer)
Micro herbs to serve
½ punnet baby button mushrooms, halved and sautéed to serve 

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How to make the chicken meatballs

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 
2. Heat the olive oil and sauté the mushrooms until golden, set aside. 
3. Use a large chef’s knife and finely chop the chicken until it resembles a very rough mince consistency. 
4. Transfer the mushrooms into a bowl and add the chicken, chives, bread crumbs, egg, red onion, and season with salt and pepper. Mix together well and form the meatballs to your preferred size, place the meatballs onto a baking tray and brush with a little olive oil. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on size. 
5. Make the marrow pasta by finely slicing with marrows lengthways either using a sharp knife or mandolin slicer, then slice them again to form long thin strips of marrow, try to avoid the centre where the seeds are. Place the marrow into a pot of simmering salted water and allow to simmer for just over a minute or until the marrow is tender, immediately pour off the hot water and run cool water over the marrow. Just before serving, pour off the cool water and heat it up in the pot. 
6. To serve, place the heated marrow onto the serving plates, top with the meatballs and serve with micro leaves and the halved baby mushrooms (you can leave these out if you prefer). 

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