These little meatballs have a great flavour to them and can also be served as a canapé with the yoghurt dressing – just serve on a platter with toothpicks and the dressing in a little dipping bowl to the side. The meatballs can also be frozen once rolled, so it’s great to make up plenty of them and have some in the freezer to call on for an easy week-night dinner.
SERVES 6–8
Lemony Lamb Meatballs
MAKES APPROX. 40 MEATBALLS
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
¼ cup milk
500g lamb mince
2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup grated Parmesan
2 tbsp preserved lemon, skin only, finely
chopped
¼ cup finely chopped mint,
plus extra to serve flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in a bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes to soak.
Place the lamb mince, cumin, garlic, Parmesan, preserved lemon and chopped mint into a bowl. Season well and then add the breadcrumb mixture and combine well. Roll the lamb mixture into 3cm balls and place onto a plate. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm up, or freeze for later.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the meatballs, in batches, turning every couple of minutes for 4–5 minutes until browned all over and cooked through. Keep warm in a low oven.
Asparagus and Green Bean Salad
12 spears asparagus, cut in half diagonally 250g green beans, trimmed
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp preserved lemon, skin only, finely
chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
Blanch the asparagus and green beans in a large pot of salted boiling water (do this in small batches). Remove when just tender, and drain well. Put into a large bowl and repeat until all of the vegetables are cooked.
Meanwhile heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat along with the preserved lemon, chilli and garlic. Cook until the garlic is soft and then season well with salt and pepper. Pour the warm dressing over the greens and mix very well to make sure all of the veggies are coated. Sprinkle with the pine nuts just before serving.
We ate many dishes similar to this while spending time in Italy and they were all different depending on the part of Tuscany that we were in. This is our version of a Tuscan chicken casserole and it’s very moreish and flavoursome. I love it in the winter and any leftovers get tossed through some pasta the next day.
This moreish slice is fabulous with a cup of tea to give you an energy boost mid-afternoon or as a decadent after-dinner treat.
Here we’re jazzing up a handy grain packet, meaning you get big flavour, fast.
Growing up in Germany, Verena remembers two camps when it came to potato salad: camp mayo and camp oil/broth.
What better way to welcome the weekend than with the smell and sound of frying herb-loaded ijeh?
These festive pavlovas are dipped in white chocolate and topped with toasted hazelnuts, cream and berry sauce to make an impressive dessert.
I don’t remember much about the circumstances of my first cherry clafoutis. But I must have loved the classic French farmhouse dessert, because I’ve been trying to reproduce that first custardy, almond-scented pancake ever since.
‘I always think that canapés should box slightly above their weight – in other words, they need to be vividly flavoured to succeed. Here, the combination of crisp brioche, salty feta, pickled walnuts, figs, honey and thyme is just that. If you like, there’s a recipe for pickling your own green walnuts on page 275 of Rick Stein’s Christmas. You can also make this with slices of goat’s cheese from a log instead of the whipped feta.’
While I’ve always been a fan of the old camp song “On Top of Spaghetti,” I firmly believe that’s the very last place a meatball belongs.
Shrubs pair beautifully with soda water (and gin), and are perfect for using up seasonal fruit — wild, homegrown or store-bought.
