Lamb meatballs in yogurt, pea and herb broth recipe
These minted lamb meatballs in a light broth, studded with sweet sugar snap and mangetout peas, feel exactly like the kind of thing we ought to be eating in autumn. Serve the meatball broth with something savoury and nutty like quinoa, or wholemeal grains such as pearl barley or bulgur wheat. Light pasta such as orzo or linguine work very well, too.
TIP: It’s best to make these with the kind of lamb mince (ground lamb) you find at a good butcher’s shop, with a decent streak of fat running through it, rather than the lean strands found in pre-sealed packets on the supermarket shelf.
Recipe from THE BOROUGH MARKET COOKBOOK by Ed Smith, published by Hodder & Stoughton, £25. Photography by Issy Croker.
Ingredients
- 500 g lamb mince (ground lamb)
- 100 g ricotta
- 50 g dry breadcrumbs
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 lemon, finely grated zest only
- 1 large egg
- 40 g mint, leaves only, finely shredded
- 0.5 tsp sea salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 17.6 oz lamb mince (ground lamb)
- 3.5 oz ricotta
- 1.8 oz dry breadcrumbs
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 lemon, finely grated zest only
- 1 large egg
- 1.4 oz mint, leaves only, finely shredded
- 0.5 tsp sea salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 17.6 oz lamb mince (ground lamb)
- 3.5 oz ricotta
- 1.8 oz dry breadcrumbs
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 lemon, finely grated zest only
- 1 large egg
- 1.4 oz mint, leaves only, finely shredded
- 0.5 tsp sea salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 600 ml vegetable stock
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 garlic bulb, cut horizontally through the middle
- 350 g mixture of sugar snap peas, mangetout and freshly podded peas
- 15 g chervil, leaves only, roughly chopped
- 21.1 fl oz vegetable stock
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 garlic bulb, cut horizontally through the middle
- 12.3 oz mixture of sugar snap peas, mangetout and freshly podded peas
- 0.5 oz chervil, leaves only, roughly chopped
- 2.5 cups vegetable stock
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 garlic bulb, cut horizontally through the middle
- 12.3 oz mixture of sugar snap peas, mangetout and freshly podded peas
- 0.5 oz chervil, leaves only, roughly chopped
- 1 dollop yogurt, per person
- 4 portions of cooked grains, seeds or pasta of your choice
- 1 dollop yogurt, per person
- 4 portions of cooked grains, seeds or pasta of your choice
- 1 dollop yogurt, per person
- 4 portions of cooked grains, seeds or pasta of your choice
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Lamb
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 20 mins
- Cooking Time: 30 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Mix together all the meatball ingredients in a bowl, keeping a quarter of the shredded mint to one side, then get your hands dirty and roll the mixture into balls about the size of a walnut: 20–25g (0.7–0.8oz) each if you’re into measuring.
- Arrange the meatballs on a baking tray and, if you have time, refrigerate for 1 hour or more.
- Around 30 minutes before you plan to serve, heat the oven to 150°C fan/170°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Once the oven’s hot, bake the meatballs for 10 minutes.
- At the same time, bring the vegetable stock, bay leaves and garlic to the boil in a wide saucepan, then reduce the temperature and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the baked meatballs to the stock and poach for 5 minutes before adding the sugar snaps, mangetout and fresh peas. Simmer for a further 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and leave the greens to warm through and the broth to cool a little.
- Stir the chervil and remaining mint through the broth and meatballs, then serve with a grain, seed or pasta of your choice, and a dollop or two of yogurt to stir through the broth.
This recipe is from THE BOROUGH MARKET COOKBOOK by Ed Smith, published by Hodder & Stoughton, £25. Photography by Issy Croker.
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