I made this for dinner last Friday because A, it’s so easy to make. B, it’s full of flavours and reminds me of spring/summer. And C, I made enough to have it as an easy lunch Saturday. Perfect start to the weekend.

I used giant wholemeal couscous from Waitrose but you can use either ‘normal’ couscous or bulgur. Up to you, really =)

You’ll need:
Tabbouleh
100 g bulgur (or 100 g couscous)
300 g vine-ripened tomatoes
2-3 tbsp finely chopped red onions
1/2 cucumber
60 g cut flat-leaf parsley (a large handful or a large pack)
1 pack fresh mint (roughly 30-40 g)
80 g pomegranate seeds
4 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
4-6 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp honey or agave nectar
1 pinch ground cinnamon + ground nutmeg

Spicy meatballs
500 g lean mince (5% preferably grass-fed/organic)
1 egg
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 small fresh chili
3 cm fresh ginger (finely chopped)
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
2-3 sundried tomatoes (chopped) + a little oil
Small amount of mixed seeds such as sunflower seeds, sesame etc.
Seasoning

How to:
Tabbouleh
Boil the couscous/bulgur according to the packet. Add a little salt to the boiling water.

Meanwhile, roughly chop the tomatoes and put in a colander over a bowl, so the juices can drain out.
Finely chop the red onions and set aside in a small bowl.

Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, then carefully scoop out the seeds. (keep for the dressing) Dice the rest of the cucumber.
Discard the tough stems from the parsley and mint, then finely chop the leaves.

Put the couscous/bulgur, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley and mint in a bowl. Add the pomegranate seeds and gently mix together.

To make the dressing, whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, cinnamon and nutmeg together, seasoning to taste. Mix into the salad to serve.

Spicy meatballs
Mix the mince with the egg, onion, garlic, ginger and finely chopped chilli. Add all of the spices and mix well. Add in the sundried tomatoes, oil, the seeds and the tomato juice from the tabbouleh. Mix well (best to use a hand mixer with dough hooks)
Leave to stand for 30 minutes if you’ve got the time. This is to develop the flavours. If not hop straight to the next step.

Put on an oven tray with baking paper and cook in the oven 180 C for 20 minutes. Warm up a large frying pan with a little oil and fry the now cooked meatballs for a few minutes so they get a nice, brown colour all over.

Optional dressing:
If you want you can make a nice dressing to go with the meatballs out of cold greek yoghurt (preferably non-fat), lemon juice, the seeds from the cucumber, seasoning and a little hint of cumin. ENJOY <3