These meatballs are special. Not only are they incredibly easy (and versatile), but they look so pretty! ‘Bejewelled’ – what a cliché! But it was the word that popped into my head when I saw how beautiful these were.
Just look:
B-E-A-UTIFUL, right?
They’re also just as gorgeous when cooked:
Ingredients (makes 8 medium-sized meatballs):
200g lamb (yes, of course you can use oother meat if you want to), minced (or a cut you can mince yourself)
1 red onion
4 cloves garlic
Fresh herbs – I used mainly mint, with some basil, parsley and coriander in there for good measure. Use as much or as little as you like: play around with the flavour combinations to suit your taste.
Baharat – this is a lovely spice mix which makes these meatballs look even prettier, thanks to the vibrant deep-pink rose petals. You should be able to find it in most of the large supermarkets in the UK. I used about 1 tbsp, but you could use more or less.
Method:
Chop your onions, garlic and herbs. You might want to pan-fry your onions and garlic a bit to brown/soften them, but you could just add them raw. Add the minced lamb and baharat, and mix well! (Obviously, with your hands. The squishier, the better!).
Shape into meatballs of any size you want. Place in a baking dish, and bake at around gas mark 6 for 25-30 minutes. Baking time will vary based on the size of your meatballs, so you might want to check they’re cooked through before serving! This might entail breaking one of these gorgeous meatballs in half, but I’m sure you can cope. After all, if it’s ‘defective’ you just have to eat it straight away, right? Isn’t that a rule or something? It is in my kitchen…
That’s it.
I said it was easy, right?
To serve:
I served these on some quickly stir-fried courgette ‘noodles’, with some homemade spicy tomato sauce (canned and fresh tomatoes, garlic, red onion, parsley, coriander, basil, chili).
