Eat & Drink
Originally published on Tuesday, 26th January 2010
Lamb Meatballs with Saffron, Garlic and Almond Sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
1 small onion
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, minced
500 grams lamb mince
1 egg
Sea salt
Freshly grated black pepper
55 grams flour
4 tbsp olive oil for frying
For the Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tin plum tomatoes
1 / 2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 small handful flat leaf parsley
100 grams Marcona almonds
pinch saffron threads
Instructions
Place the onion into the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the lamb and thyme leaves and pulse until well blended. Add the egg, salt and pepper to taste and pulse again until well mixed together. Note: If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by hand in a mixing bowl, just mince the onion finely before mixing it with the other ingredients.
Place the flour in a shallow bowl. With your hands, take some of the lamb mixture and roll it between your palms to form a golf ball-sized ball. Roll the ball in the flour and tap off the excess. Place the floured ball on a large, clean plate. Repeat until you have used up all the lamb mince mixture.
Cover with cling film and place in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes before frying.
In a large, wide frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the meatballs and fry until well browned on all sides. Remove the meatballs with tongs or a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.
Make the sauce by adding the 2 tablepoons of oil to the pan. Add the garlic and sauté briefly. Add the tomatoes and stir with a wooden spoon to break up. Adjust heat so that tomatoes reach a gentle simmer. Add the meatballs to the tomatoes and stir once gently so that they are nestled and coated in the tomato mixture. Leave to simmer gently for 25 minutes.
In the bowl of a food processor, place the cinnamon, parsley, and almonds. Using the side of a spoon, crush the saffron threads against the side of the cup and then add the saffron and water. Pulse briefly until the almonds are coarsely ground. Be careful not to overprocess or you’ll have almond ‘peanut butter’. If you do not have a food processor, chop the almonds finely and stir in the cinnamon, parsley and saffron.
Add the almond mixture to the simmering meatballs and stir gently to mix through. Continue to simmer gently for 5 minutes. The sauce should be thick and cling to the meatballs.
Spoon meatballs and sauce into a bowl and serve.
Jennifer Klinec from Eat Drink Talk has kindly agreed to provide Urban Junkies readers with mouthwatering recipes and foodtips.
To learn more, classes at Eat Drink Talk are held in Jennifer's beautiful loft in Clerkenwell, packed with information and useful tips, and you'll get to sample all of the delicious dishes prepared during class.
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