These lamb meatballs remind me of tapas in Spain; simple, flavourful and delicious when paired with a beautiful sauce. Meatballs are a firm favourite in our house, and these are a great way to get kids involved with food. It is nearly second nature for me to stand in the kitchen, watching TV while rolling batches of meatballs. And I do make meatballs in batches – they freeze phenomenally well for a future easy meal or entertaining groups. When entertaining, I keep a bowl of toothpicks out and leave guests to help themselves from a small tray of piping hot meatballs with a dipping sauce.
A simple tomato sauce is lovely with the lamb meatballs, but I adore the savoury sharpness of romesco. This Spanish sauce is made from charred peppers and tomatoes then thickened with almonds. Beautifully dairy-free, it still has a creaminess thanks to the amalgamation of the nuts and lemon juice. Sherry vinegar is traditionally added, to provide a rounded sour hit to this sauce, and I imagine to help it last longer. However, white wine vinegar is a good substitute if sherry vinegar isn’t on hand.
I adore the vibrant fiery orange colour against grilled meats and topped on charred greens. I think it looks amazing drizzled over asparagus or avocado slices. It can be served cold, but is wonderfully aromatic when gently warmed up. Serve both the meatballs and romesco with piles of pita bread and homemade falafels for a lovely easy feast.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion or shallot, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 500gm finely minced lamb
- 4x roasted peppers, deseeded
- 4x small tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled but whole
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
Instructions
In a food processor, blitz the onion, garlic, nutmeg and mince until combined. Roll into bite sized balls and refrigerate for an hour to firm up. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a couple of baking trays. Place the meatballs on the baking trays and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until cooked the whole way through.
While the meatballs are cooking, grab your blender. Add in the peppers, tomatoes, garlic, nuts, parsley, first measure of oil and lemon. Blitz until it's at the texture you like - I prefer mine super smooth but other may like a little texture in there.
