You’ve heard of Chicken Soup for the Soul, well last week I made Chicken Rissoles for the Soul.

I’ve spent the last month with the worst mouth, throat and chest infection I’ve had in years. Consequently, I haven’t been able to eat much, and when I did manage to get a mouthful down it tasted awful. I completely lost my sense of taste. Most of what I put in my mouth tasted bitter.

We all want comfort food when we’re not well, but because I couldn’t taste anything, there was very little that was giving me any pleasure. Food quickly became a very disagreeable and unpleasant experience. And as I’m a real foodie ~ I love the deliciousness of slowly, savouring every mouthful, I really missed it.

Every few days I’d try something new to see if my taste buds were back. The only thing I was managing was scrambled eggs and pears. But as luck would have it when I bit into one of my chicken rissoles ~ generally I stick to vegetarian food, but I was willing to try anything ~ I could actually taste it! Halleluiah! They became my only spot of food joy, and thank goodness for that, as it improved my cheerfulness no end!

So it seems my chicken rissoles did indeed turn out to be chicken rissoles for the soul. They gave me the comfort I needed for my weary body and turned grumpy old me into a much happier soul.

Inara’s Chicken Rissoles

I must admit this recipe was made up on the spot from what I had in the fridge. The quantities are also from memory as I threw in a bit of this and a bit of that, which is pretty much how I cook most of the time anyway! This recipe makes about 20 large very delicious rissoles and generally lasts hubby a whole week! If you make them, I hope you enjoy them!

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of raw chicken mince (free range for me)
• 3 Cups of sweet potato mash
• 1 Cup steamed and mashed cauliflower
• 1 Leek quartered longways and sliced thinly
• 1 Zucchini grated
• 1 Carrot grated
• I Large Egg
• About 1-2 Cups of Breadcrumbs (gluten free for me)
• Season with 2 dessertspoons of Marigold Swiss Vegan Bouillon Powder
• Coconut Oil for sautéing and frying
• Extra breadcrumbs for coating the rissoles

Method:
Mix the chicken mince, sweet potato, cauliflower, egg and seasoning together well, and enough breadcrumbs to firm up the mix. Sautee the leeks, zucchini and carrot till soft, and add to the mix. Taste for seasoning. Rissoles always need to be on the over-seasoned side when raw, so don’t think you are over doing it. Roll the mix into rissole-size balls, and then coat with the extra breadcrumbs. Melt the coconut oil in a large pan, slightly flatten the rissoles and brown them on both sides. Then turn down the heat, pop the lid on and cook for about 3 minutes until firm. Serve hot or cold.

Inara Hawley © 2014