Give your meatballs a Middle Eastern spin with chef Benjamin Lacy’s lamb take. Inspired by ground lamb kebobs known as luleh, he’s crafted a recipe featuring far-away spices like cumin, coriander and paprika. The balls are pan-fried and braised in beef stock for extra meat-y flavor. Lacy pairs them with a pepper-onion chutney and a curried turnip puree, but the meatballs do just fine on their own if you’re short on time.
Lamb Meatballs with Onion Chutney and Turnip Puree
Ingredients
For the pepper-onion chutney:
- 1 large white onion, brunoised
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and brunoised
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/3 tablespoon turmeric
- pinch cayenne
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 tablespoon brown mustard seed, whole
- 4 turnips, coarsely chopped
- 1 yellow onion, julienned
- 3 tablespoons cup salt
- 1 pound butter, sliced
- 1/4 bunch thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup madras curry
- 1 cup creme fraiche
- 3 pounds ground lamb
- 1 large yellow onion, brunoised
- 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon mint, chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- rice flour, for coating
- 2 quarts beef stock
Directions
For the chutney:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the onion, bell pepper, salt, paprika, tumeric, cayenne and vinegar.
- Add the canola oil and mustard seeds to a pan and toast on medium heat until seeds are nutty and popping, usually 4-5 minutes. Add the oil and seeds to the onion and pepper bowl. Cover and marinate overnight in the fridge.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss the chopped turnip, onion and salt.
- Shingle half the butter slices in an even layer on the bottom of a medium stock pot. Add the turnip and onion mix and shingle the remaining half of the butter on top.
- Top the mix with thyme and bay leafs, cover with tin foil or lid. Cook over a very low flame for 2 hours until the turnips are tender.
- Stir in the curry powder, puree the mixture in a blender and pass through a fine mesh strainer.
- Whisk in the creme fraiche.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Mix together all the meatball ingredients except the beef stock and roll into 1-ounce balls.
- Toss the meatballs in rice flour and pan fry, turning regularly until a crust forms - usually two minutes. (Or, roast at 450ºF for 8-10 minutes in a convection oven.)
- Place the meatballs in an ovenproof dish and cover with the beef stock (add a little water, if necessary). Braise for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool.
