Summery delight: Zucchini-chicken balls with light feta-yoghurt dip

Looking for the perfect summer snack that's filling yet light? Try the following recipe for courgette and chicken balls, perfect for combating a bout of appetite at the beach or on a hike.

The balls are straightforward to make: you simply grate the courgettes coarsely and finely chop the chicken breast fillet, before binding it all together with breadcrumbs and eggs.

The seasoning is gentle, as they are served with a delicious, flavourful dip. It's made of Greek yoghurt and feta, but the real treat is the mix of chives, dill and mint. There's nothing like fresh herbs and here, they are combined with lemon zest and lemon juice, plus there's a touch of honey to balance out any acidity.

If you're serving your courgette and chicken balls without the dip, though, then try adding a little lemon zest and the herbs from the recipe to the balls to give them some additional freshness and flavour.

Ingredients for 5 portions (makes around 35 balls):

・350 g courgettes
・salt
・100 g feta cheese
・150 g Greek yoghurt
・2 tbsp whole milk
・5 g dill (fresh)
・5 g mint (fresh)
・8 g chives (fresh)
・1/2 organic lemon
・1/2 tsp honey
・pepper
・1 spring onion
・2 cloves garlic (small)
・350 g chicken breast fillets, preferably organic
・2 eggs (medium)
・100 g breadcrumbs
・3 tbsp sunflower oil

Method:

・Wash the courgettes and remove the stalks, then roughly grate the courgettes. Mix the grated courgettes with approx. 1 tsp salt and place in a sieve, then leave to stand over the sink for approx. 30 minutes to drain away any bitter fluid.
・To make the dip, blend the feta, yoghurt and milk using a hand blender to create a smooth cream.
・Wash the herbs and shake them dry. Pluck the dill tips and mint leaves from the stalks. Finely chop the herbs. Wash and dry the lemon, then grate approx. 1 tsp of the zest. Squeeze out the juice.
・Mix the herbs, lemon zest and lemon juice with the yoghurt and feta cream, then flavour it with honey, salt and pepper.
・Wash the spring onion and remove the stalk and dark green part at the end. Finely chop your spring onions. Peel the garlic, take a garlic press and press it into a large bowl.
・Squeeze the courgettes well over the sink to remove as much of the water as you can from the vegetables. Add the courgette shavings to the bowl.
・Finely chop the chicken breast fillets and mix with 2 eggs and approx. 100 g breadcrumbs, then season with salt and pepper. Knead all the ingredients well with clean hands and shape into small balls approx. 3 cm in diameter.
・Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan and fry the courgette and chicken balls over a medium heat for approx. 5-7 minutes, depending on their size, until the balls are golden brown and the meat is cooked through.
・Serve the courgette and chicken balls with the dip.