Lemon Feta Chickpea Meatballs

These cute little "meatballs" are a fun addition to pasta night. I served mine with a spicy tomato cheese sauce that I picked up at the grocery store. The prep time for this recipe is pretty minimal, so you can have dinner on the table quickly with only a little bit of work. 

Recipe from Amuse Your Bouche.

Ingredients:
-1 small slice wheat bread
-15 ounces of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
-3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
-Juice of 1/2 a lemon
-Salt
-Black pepper
-Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 375, and lightly spray a baking tray with cooking spray.

Over a large bowl, tear the slice of bread into pieces. It won't be perfect, but the pieces will lend themselves well to everything else.

I put my chickpeas in a microwave proof bowl and microwaved them for 2 minutes in order to help soften them. I then added the chickpeas to the bowl with the bread, as well as the parsley, feta, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix everything together until well combined

Form the mixture into balls of even size, I was able to get nine this way. Place on the baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes or until crisp.

Yum! I was a little nervous about pairing something lemony with a pasta served with tomato sauce, but the combination worked well together. The "meatballs" held together nicely and didn't fall apart when I removed them from the oven. The lemon is the most prominent flavor, but the tangy feta cheese is obvious too. The chickpeas and bread are really just food vehicles here, I didn't think the chickpeas really came through flavor-wise.