lamb and bulgur meatballs
Lamb and Bulgur Meatballs
I don’t eat a lot of meat, but when I do, I love to eat lamb. I am sure it’s due to my childhood in England where lamb is more popular than beef (or at least it was when I was growing up). These couldn’t be easier; you don’t even need to fry the onions – just mix everything, shape into balls and cook. Chop the onions nice and fine, though, so the meatballs stay compact once they’re in the pan. If you wish, you can prep and roll the meatballs well in advance; that way, you can have them on the table within 15 minutes later in the day. This recipe comes from one of Yotom Ottolenghi’s cookbooks (although I can’t remember which one!).
Serves four.
Ingredients
80g bulgur wheat
500g minced lamb
½ onion, peeled and very finely chopped
15g parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried mint
1½ tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Salt and black pepper
100g feta, crumbled into 0.5cm pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
Serve with:
200g Greek yoghurt
5g mint leaves, roughly chopped
4 tsp lemon juice
Creating the Magic!
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Half-fill a small saucepan with cold water, bring to a boil, and cook the bulgur for three minutes. Drain in a sieve or colander and set aside until dry: you should end up with about 200g of cooked bulgur.
Tip the bulgur into a large bowl and add the lamb, onion, parsley, dried mint, cumin, cinnamon, garlic, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Mix well to combine, then gently fold in the feta. Divide the mix into 16 balls, weighing about 55g each, then gently but firmly press together, so they hold their shape later.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high flame, then fry the meatballs, turning them regularly, for eight to 10 minutes, until golden-brown all over (fry them in batches, if need be).
Transfer the browned meatballs to a small baking tray and bake for five minutes, to finish off cooking. Serve four balls a person with some yoghurt spooned alongside, a sprinkle of mint on top and a drizzle of lemon juice. Delicious!