Tomatokeftedes and Cauliflower Tabouleh Salad
Make the most of your spiralizer with this inspiring Greek recipe from Inspiralized. It makes a healthy midweek meal, packed full of flavour.
Introduction
The first getaway trip Lu and I took together as a couple was to Santorini and Mykonos, in Greece. When we arrived at our hotel on Santorini, it was late at night, but we were ravenous from almost 20 hours of travelling. We dropped our bags and walked a few minutes to a small nearby restaurant and asked for "anything Santorinian". The waitress brought us tomatokeftedes – fried tomato balls. I don't know if it was the exhaustion or the excitement, but I will never forget that first bite. Of couse, we devoured them and ordered more. For the rest of our stay on Santorini we never ate at a restaurant without ordering their tomatokeftedes. These healthy tomato balls are my way of bringing a bit of Santorini to you.
Ingredients
| For the tomatokeftedes: | |
| cooking spray | |
| 170g | small cherry tomatoes, chopped |
| 70g | spring onions, green and white parts, chopped |
| 1 tbsp | warm water |
| 1 tbsp | chopped fresh mint |
| 1/4 tbsp | dried oregano |
| 30g | wholemeal or chickpea flour |
| 20g | pecorino romano cheese, grated |
| salt and pepper | |
| For the tabouleh: | |
| 1 | large seedless cucumber, spiralized with BLADE C |
| 75g | cauliflower florets |
| 60g | red onion, finely chopped |
| 3 tbsp | chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley |
| 1 tbsp | chopped fresh mint |
| salt and pepper | |
| 3 tbsp | lemon juice |
| zest of half a lemon | |
| For the tzatziki: | |
| 55g | natural 0% fat Greek yogurt |
| 1 | medium garlic clove, finely chopped |
| 1/4 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1/4 tbsp | red wine vinegar |
| 1/2 tbsp | chopped fresh dill |
| 3/4 tbsp | lemon juice |
| salt and pepper |
Essential kit
You will need a food processor and a spiralizer.
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat the paper with cooking spray.
2. Make the tomatokeftedes. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients. Using your hands to partially crush the tomatoes,combine the ingredients until the mixture is thick and sticky. (If needed, add more flour and/or water.) Form tomatokeftedes about the size of a golf ball; you should have about 6. Place them on the baking sheet and press down slightly to form patties.Bake for 10 minutes, flip them over, and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until browned on the outside and firm.
3. Make the tabouleh.Pat dry the cucumber noodles to remove moisture.Pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor until rice-like. Add the onion, parsley, mint, salt and pepper,lemon juice, and zest to the food processor and pulse until well combined.
4. Prepare the tzatziki. Whisk the ingredients in a medium bowl.
5. Assemble the meal. Combine the cucumber noodles and the tabouleh mixture in a large bowl and toss to blend well. Divide into serving bowls and top with hot tomato balls. Drizzle over the tzatziki sauce and serve.
