Caesar Pops

Hi All! Yes I'm finally back in the kitchen and on-the-line after a 6+ months hiatus while OG and I traveled the world. Hope I wasn't missed too much, and you've all been enjoying my previous recipes and some of my happy snaps on Instagram.

Before you ask, I did picked up a few interesting recipes on my travels, which I'm eager to try out and share with you.

This specific recipe was inspired by an Asian cookbook I saw in Vancouver, Canada. It was written in Japanese, so I didn't understand the recipe, however, the picture says it all (see below).



I decided to adapt it to suit the summer-y flavours of Sydney. I was thinking Caesar Salad in popsicle form. So I “whipped” these up for a friend's house warming pot luck party. Risky move though, considering I made up the recipe and have never tried it before and all I was going off was a picture. However, I'm very proud of them and they went down a treat.

Other adaptations: If Caesar Salad isn't your thing, perhaps lamb kofta with baby spinach could be a good mix. Also, I think the one in the picture is some sticky sweet pork and cabbage.


Ingredients
4 rashers bacon, diced
500g mince chicken
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 large egg (or 2 small)
~75g Parmesan cheese, thickly grated or finely chopped
Pepper to taste
1 tspn dried parsley
1 tspn dried oregano
1 cup of panko bread crumbs
2 heads of baby cos lettuce
Caesar salad dressing to serve

Method
1. In a small fry pan, sauté bacon until crispy. Set aside to cool. Tip: leave the fatty bits on the bacon (remove the rind). This will be the "fat" or the "oil" for the meatballs.

2. In a mixing bowl combine chicken, garlic, egg(s), cheese, pepper, herbs and cooled fried bacon. Mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Preheat oven to 210C.

4. Using tablespoons, form balls with the chicken mixture. Roll them in the panko breadcrumbs. Place crumbed balls on a baking paper lined baking tray.

5. Bake balls for 15 to 30 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Turn half way through to allow to brown evenly.




6. Remove from oven and allow to sit for about 10 minutes to allows crumbs to crisp up and balls to cool down enough to handle.

7. In the meantime separate lettuce leaves and wash thoroughly.

8. Using a small bamboo skewer, skewer a leaf, stalk side, then skewer a ball. Place on serving tray. Repeat for remaining leaves and balls. Tip: you can skewer two of the inner leaves as they're a bit smaller.

9. Serve warm with Caesar salad dressing in a small dipping bowl.