Lamb Meatballs in Rich Tomato Sauce
Lamb is not commonly used in meatballs, but it should be. Lamb mince is one of the most flavourful minces and it really adds a rich flavour to a sauce. The high fat content (which can be cooked and drained off), means you don't need to worry about using a binding agent when making the meatballs, as they will hold their shape.
The sauce I've made is simple, yet is has a deep flavour, a thick texture and compliments the strong flavour of the lamb, but again, it is so simple to make, but tastes like hours and hours of hard work.
Do you make or buy your meatballs? To be honest, I've had a look around the main supermarkets and most of them are simple ingredients; lamb, mint/other herb and binding agent. The only difference with my recipe is that I add salt and pepper and don't use a binding agent, so as long as you season your sauce well, I can't see why shop-bought ones would make much difference.
As I've already said, lamb mince can be fatty and there are ways to reduce this and the amount of fat in the dish. I cook my meatballs in a pan first, until brown all over. I reserve 2 tsp of the lamb fat and use this to cook the ingredients for my sauce with, and then I discard the rest of the fat from the meatball pan. You can also put the cooked meatballs on some kitchen roll to soak any excess up. To be honest, the fat that is present in the overall dish, seems to be no more than in standard 10% fat beef mince.
Ingredients
Meatballs
Lamb is not commonly used in meatballs, but it should be. Lamb mince is one of the most flavourful minces and it really adds a rich flavour to a sauce. The high fat content (which can be cooked and drained off), means you don't need to worry about using a binding agent when making the meatballs, as they will hold their shape.
The sauce I've made is simple, yet is has a deep flavour, a thick texture and compliments the strong flavour of the lamb, but again, it is so simple to make, but tastes like hours and hours of hard work.
Do you make or buy your meatballs? To be honest, I've had a look around the main supermarkets and most of them are simple ingredients; lamb, mint/other herb and binding agent. The only difference with my recipe is that I add salt and pepper and don't use a binding agent, so as long as you season your sauce well, I can't see why shop-bought ones would make much difference.
As I've already said, lamb mince can be fatty and there are ways to reduce this and the amount of fat in the dish. I cook my meatballs in a pan first, until brown all over. I reserve 2 tsp of the lamb fat and use this to cook the ingredients for my sauce with, and then I discard the rest of the fat from the meatball pan. You can also put the cooked meatballs on some kitchen roll to soak any excess up. To be honest, the fat that is present in the overall dish, seems to be no more than in standard 10% fat beef mince.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 600g lamb mince
- 1 tsp dried mint (handful of fresh)
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely grated
- 6 closed cup mushrooms, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, finely diced
- 10 fresh plum tomatoes, halved
- 400g good quality, tinned plum tomatoes
- 500g good quality, passata
- 1 veg stock pot
- 250ml water
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Pinch of salt
- Good pinch of black pepper
Method
- Mix the mince, mint and salt and pepper using your hands. Take a small handful of the mince, and roll it in the palms of your hands to create a ball shape. The mixture should make around 24 meatballs.
- Fry the meatballs in a frying pan, over a medium heat, moving occasionally, for 10 minutes until browned all over. Drain the fat, reserving 2 tsp.
- In a saucepan or deep based frying pan (such as khadai), place 2 tsp of the excess lamb fat in the pan, and sweat the onion, carrot, mushrooms, garlic and fresh tomatoes on a low heat, for around 10 minutes, or until soft.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, passata, stock, water, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and stir well.
- Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce, and leave on a low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Leave to reduce for around 2 hours.
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| Anti-clockwise from top left; meatballs, browned meatballs, sauce base mixture, sauce base mixture sweated, tomatoes and passata, finished product. |