Easy Cous Cous Anchovies Bites – Brain Booster for Little Ones

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You will love this recipe. It’s a great meal for little ones, flavorful and with a great load of Omega 3 fatty acids, essential for your baby’s brain development. But it’s also an awesome adult snack or appetizer.

Anchovies are the key ingredient. Tiny small fishes classified as “low mercury” fish and high in Omega 3 they can be served to your little ones starting from the very beginning, 6 months. Canned anchovies are seasoned in salt so I would suggest to use them as ingredient for your baby food and not serve them by themselves up until 12 months of age. Fresh anchovies, on the other hand, can be served from 6 months. They might not be super easy to find at the fishmonger (if you live near the Mediterranean you will have better chances!), but if you do, I would strongly recommend to enjoy them.

Cous cous is another great ingredient for baby food. Has a grainy but soft texture and it’s easy to prepare. Usually the cous cous is a messy food with little ones, but in this recipe is compacted into balls making it easier for little hands to grab and enjoy with less mess.

First thing to do is to preheat the oven to 400F/180C degrees.

The recipe starts preparing the couscous in the traditional way. Fill a saucepan with 1 cup of water and bring to boil. When the water is starts boiling turn the heat off and add a pinch of salt and the olive oil. Then add the couscous.

Stir with a fork and cover with a lid. Let it rest and cook with the heat off. After 5 minutes you can remove the lid and break the couscous with a fork. Set it aside.

In a large bowl add the anchovies and the minced parsley, mix to create a paste.

Add in the cous cous and mix well to combine the flavors. Add the egg white (it will serve as a binder), the grated scamorza cheese, the Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Mix everything together.

Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using your hands (I would suggest to wet them with water for an easier result) create small balls using 1 Tbsp of the couscous mix.

Place the balls one next to the other on the parchment paper. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top and bake in the preheated oven to 400F/180C for 15 min.

Let the couscous anchovies cheesy balls cool down for 5 minutes and serve warm.

HOW TO STORE THE COUSCOUS BALLS?

Any couscous ball leftover can be stored in air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days or can be easily frozen for up to 3 months. You can thaw the needed quantity placing the balls in the microwave for 1 minute.

CAN THE RECIPE BE GLUTEN FREE?

If you are looking for a gluten free recipe you can substitute couscous with quinoa. Same grainy texture, quinoa will have a more earthy flavor and providing iron, protein and extra Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids!

CAN I SUBSTITUTE SCAMORZA CHEESE?

If you cannot find scamorza at your local grocery store, mozzarella is a good substitute or even cheddar or Swiss cheese.

CAN I SKIP THE EGG FOR AN EGG FREE RECIPE?

If your little one cannot have eggs you can substitute the 1 egg white with 3 Tablespoons of the water in Canned chickpeas. It’s called “acquafaba” and has amazing binding properties. Another option would be to add 1 Tbsp of ground flax seeds mixed with 3 Tbsp of water.

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