Skip to main content

Feta & Lamb Meatballs


Lamb is a polarizing protein. Quite a few people find the taste a little too strong and they shy away from it. I on the other hand just love it. If you're a fan of lamb flavour you'll enjoy this dish because the lamb is the main taste that comes through once it's all done. I've added in cannellini beans to make it a true one pot meal. Even with the beans, it's great spread out on a slice of crusty toasted bread. 

Gather the Good Stuff


  1. 500g minced lamb 
  2. 1 package of feta cheese 
  3. 1 large eggplant 
  4. 1 large onion
  5. 2-4 cloves of garlic , diced 
  6. 1 400g can of canellini beans 
  7. 1 400g can of diced tomatoes 
  8. 1 egg 
  9. 75-100g panko breadcrumbs
  10. 1 tsp cumin 
  11. 1 tsp coriander 
  12. 1 tsp oregano 
  13. 1/2 cup wine or other deglazing liquid - I use red wine or chicken broth
  14. 1/2 cup chicken broth     

Putting it Together 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180C 
  2. Heat 2 - 3 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil in a heavy pan over medium heat in an oven proof skillet 
  3. Slice the onion and cube the eggplant 
  4. When the oil is hot, add both to the pan and saute for 15-20 minutes until very soft (dont skimp on the time here, undercooked onions will ruin this) 
  5. meanwhile add lamb, egg, panko, cumin, coriander to a mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper as desired  
  6. Using a fork, mix together the meat. Do not over mix too much 
  7. Using your hands, make approx 12 meatballs of uniform size  
  8. 2 minutes before the onions and eggplant are done, add the garlic to the hot pan 
  9. Add the cannellini beans to the pan and turn the heat up to medium high 
  10. After 1 minute or so, add the deglazing liquid and allow it turn boil the alcohol off, stirring through  
  11. Add your can of tomatoes and the extra broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low
  12. Gently nestle your meatballs on top / into the mixture and sprinkle any remaining breadcrumbs over the top 
  13. Transfer the pan to the preheat oven and allow to cook for 25-30 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the beans and the meatballs are cooked through.
  14. When finished, remove from the oven and crumble 1/2 - 3/4 of the feta over the dish. Reserve the rest to be added with on second helpings
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chicken Paprikesh

One thing we all appreciate about chicken is how nicely it can be transformed into something awesome and in pretty short order. This dish certainly fits that bill. It won't take you much more than 25 minutes to prepare and I'm confident how pleasantly surprised you'll be with the work / reward ratio of this dish.  Key things to focus on are using a good smokey paprika and making sure you take the time to brown the onions well.

Gather the good stuff:1 Tbsp butter or better Chicken legs and thighs. Enough to fill a big pan. 2 or 3 Yellow onions - sliced. 1 Tbs of paprika. I use smoked but you can use regular paprika as well 1 cup chicken broth at room temperature1/2 cup sour cream Putting this together Cut your chicken into thighs and drumsticks. Pat dry and salt well. Meanwhile slice your onions and set aside. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a heavy pan on medium high heat . Fry chicken skin side down for 5 minutes or until skin easily lifts off the pan. Flip chicken and fry for another 3…
Post a Comment
Read more

Loco Moco

The first time I had this I was on the big island of Hawaii and I had never heard of it before my now wife and I walked into a small diner in some tiny town that I can’t even remember the name of. I do remember that we had both had too much wine the night before and this particular menu item jumped right out at me as something that might help with that. I’ve since learned that this is the quintessential Hawaiian comfort food and if you decide to make it, you’ll appreciate why. 
Key things to look out for: How you season the patty is going to greatly colour the dish. I like Cajun spices but you do you Don’t wipe out the pan in between the patties and the gravy. The fondant is exactly what you’re after when making a good gravy 


Gather the good StuffPatties 
Ground beef - enough for a few small patties. Probably about 400g or so. I like them on the thinner side but you do you Cajun seasoning to taste Garlic salt to taste Black pepper to taste 1 egg  Gravy 1.5 cups beef broth 2 tbsp soy sauce …
Post a Comment
Read more

Butterbean Chicken Traybake

The beauty of a chicken traybake is in the versatility. You can substitute the veggies and spices to basically whatever you like and still end up with a really satisfying meal. One of my favourite combinations is to use carrots, spinach and butterbeans.  It uses a chorizo / paprika mix as it's base but you'll do just as well here if you vary that up and try other combinations. 
Gather the Good Stuff:Chicken - Basically however much you need to feed your guests / family but please, use thighs and legs. If you use breasts, they almost certainly will get dried out and tough. Pat them dry with the skin on and apply a generous dose of salt & pepper. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes before you start cooking  4-5 carrots - peeled and cut into bite size rounds 2 x 400g cans of butterbeans - rinsed 300g spinach - washed and shredded 1 or 2 chorizo sausages - diced into small chunks1 large onion or 1 leek2 tsp smoked paprika 2-3 cloves garlic 300ml chicken broth 1/2 cup white wine or b…
Post a Comment
Read more