These cheesy beetroot balls are a combination of two recipes I’ve done in the past - beetroot and apple balls with quinoa, and cheesy balls with oats and breadcrumbs. They are both firm favourites with Joshua and as I had some beetroot in the fridge which needed using up but couldn’t be bothered to cook any quinoa, I mixed up the recipes a bit and made these! They’re really simple and they turned out great. As ever, you can also swap the veggies I’ve used for other ones you may have lying about - just be mindful of the different moisture contents and the effects that may have on texture and cooking time. Cooking (unlike baking), is rarely an exact science, so have fun and play about with your ingredients. The ingredients I used were... - 50g of fresh breadcrumbs (or approx 1 slice of fresh bread, blitzed) - 50g oats, blitzed in a food processor - 100g cheddar cheese, finely grated - 200g of vegetables - I used 3 beetroot, half a carrot and half a courgette - 1 egg, beaten (not two as pictured 🤦🏼♀️) - fresh mint, chopped . To make... - Grate the beetroot, carrot and courgette. Use the grater attachment in a food processor rather than hand grating if possible to save time and reduce the risk of spraying beetroot juice everywhere - Mix all ingredients together in a bowl - Shape into balls and place on an oiled tray (wet hands will help) - Spray the balls with a little more oil, or carefully roll them in the oil on the tray - Bake at 180’C for 15-20 mins, carefully turning them over halfway Eat fresh, refrigerate or freeze Enjoy x Note: you may want to squeeze out some of the excess liquid from the grated veg in a clean old tea towel or muslin or before mixing everything together. The first time I made them I did, this time I didn’t. They both turn out fine, but the extra liquid will make the balls softer in texture and they will end up flatter in shape.
