Meatballs and I took a break from each other for a few years. Stuck in the kitchen trauma of rolling mini versions for young children who potentially would decide not to eat them, or covering myself in the frying grease to get the perfect sear on the outside, I had a long break from this dish that I actually love. But then, I accidentally discovered the sear-on-the-bottom-of-the-oven technique while roasting potatoes without a spare oven shelf, so I decided to try this browning trick on meatballs. And the love affair was back on.
My new meatball era also involves a brothier sauce laced with harissa. This smokey spiced chickpea broth started its life as the base for a pumpkin and chard stew I created for a vegetarian cooking class. It just so happens to work like magic with these lamb meatballs too. And while we are in the realm of modifications on recipes, I have been known to regularly substitute the lamb for beef or turkey mince (they are a winner). This is one recipe you can make on repeat with almost infinite flavour variations.
Please see the notes below for a few more tips and ideas.
Lamb Meatballs in a Harissa & Chickpea Broth
4-6
servings20
minutes45
minutesIngredients
- For the Broth
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large banana shallots or medium white onions sliced into thin rounds or half moons
1 tsp kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 tsp harissa (I like a milder rose or smokey harissa here)
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 cinnamon stick
1 400g tin whole peeled plum tomatoes, drained
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tsp apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
200-300 ml water (depending on the size of your pan)
1 400g jar chickpeas
- For the Meatballs
1kg lamb mince
60g (1/3 cup or a good handful) breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
1 tsp kosher salt (a very generous pinch)
1tbsp baharat spice
1tsp Aleppo pepper
4 spring onions (scallions), sliced thinly, both the white and green parts
2 cloves garlic (grated or crushed with your knife)
1 tbsp each chopped dill, corriander and parsley
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- To Serve
a good squeeze of lemon
a good drizzle of tahini sauce
a few reserved parsley, coriander and dill leaves and sprigs
pomegranate seeds
Directions
- To make the Broth
- I like to start with the broth and then mix and sear the meatballs while it cooks, but if you prefer to do this in reverse or in stages, feel free to beat to your own kitchen rhythm.
- Place a large sauté pan on a medium heat. Coat the bottom with olive oil and add the sliced onions and a good pinch of salt. Allow them to soften and colour ever so slightly around the edges. Add the sliced garlic and cook together for another couple of minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
- Next come the aromatics – squeeze in the tomato puree and harissa, stirring immediately too coat the onions and soften into the pan. Add the cinnamon stick and the drained and rinsed tomatoes (this is important for the brothy texture) breaking them up either with your hands or the back of a wooden spoon as you mix them into the onions, followed by the honey, pomegranate molasses and vinegar for balance. Give everything a good stir before pouring in enough water to make it saucy, add the jar of chickpeas and give everything a final good stir around, turn the heat down a little, partially cover and cook for 20-30 minutes by which point the sauce should be super fragrant and rich.
- Make the Meatballs
- While the broth is doing it’s thing, make the meatballs. Preheat your oven to 240ºC (375ºF). Tip the mince in a generous size bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, eggs, salt and bahahrat. Mix everything together delicately with your hands, making sure all the ingredients are evenly distributed but not too mushed. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to mix with care and a light touch.
- Roll the mixutre into balls – I like them to be a smidge larger than a golf ball size and place on a large rimmed baking sheet, with a little space between so they roast and don’t steam. This should make about 16 balls. When the oven is hot, place the baking sheet right on the floor of the oven (not on a rack) – this is the hottest part and will sear the meatballs. Roast for 7 minutes until the tops are a little coloured and the bottoms are caramelised. Turn over and roast another 4-5 minutes before removing from the oven and dropping into the harissa broth.
- Continue to cook for 15 more minutes until all the flavours are combined. Either serve immediately or allow to cool, refrigerate and warm when you are ready to serve. This will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge if you want to make it in advance.
- like to serve this straight out of the pan I cooked it in with rice or grains. This is part of my Rosh Hashanah menu this year, so please click on the link for full celebratory inspiration.
Notes
- I use Bharat spice in the meatballs because its just the perfect combination of allspice, coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, sweet paprika, ginger, nutmeg and a hit of clove. If you don’t have any to hand, use a sprinkling of your favourites from the above list, they will still be delicious.
If you want to be even more fancy here, add some hearty greens – ribboned chard or cavolo nero are my favourites, into the broth with the meatballs. This is less party and more midweek style as it becomes a one bowl wonder, needing nothing more than a green salad on the side.
When you make the turkey or beef version of these, drizzle the balls with a tiny bit of olive oil before roasting in the oven. Lamb is fattier so it doesn’t need any extra added, but the leaner turkey and beef really could use a lick of oil to help brown and not stick to the pan.
For a fully vegetarian version, roast some pumpkin, winter squash or sweet potatoes with a sprinkling of spice in the oven until caramelised and tender and drop them into the broth. I sometimes also like to add some cavolo nero or chard to the mix.
Have you made this dish?
Let me know what you think, share your efforts and any tweaks you made to the recipe on Instagram, don’t forget to tag #BuildingFeasts or email me on info@buildingfeasts.com
