Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Travelers and Meatballs

At the end of May we took a trip to Maryland to visit with family and generally tourist it up. We made an effort to have some culinary adventures, and I will break them down in coming posts by location. In the meantime, here is a truly awesome, hearty, recipe that is bound to make everyone you feed it to very happy. I hope my Dad isn't reading, because I plan on tricking him into realizing the awesomeness of lamb with this recipe next time he visits! I served it with a minty chickpea salad.

Lamb Meatballs with Chickpeas
(Serves 6-8)

3/4 c piquillo peppers (roasted red peppers, jarred)
2.5-3 c chicken stock
3/4 c plain yogurt, plus a few tbs for serving
2 lbs lamb, ground
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 rounded tbs garlic, minced
1/4 c flat-leaf parsley, minced, plus a handful for garnish
1 tbs thyme leaves
2 tsp paprika
3 rounded c chickpeas (canned, drained)
4 tsp kosher salt
few glugs olive oil or veg oil

1) Puree the peppers in a food processor, then move to a bowl and whisk in the yogurt and broth.

2) Combine the lamb, eggs, garlic, parsley, thyme, paprika and salt. Mix, and divide into sixteen meatballs.

3) Heat your largest skillet and bring the oil to a simmer. Cook the meatballs on medium-high heat until browned.

4) Push the meatballs to the sides of the pan and add the red pepper mixture as well as the chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low. If you like, mash a few of the chickpeas up for a creamier sauce.

5) Simmer for about ten minutes, season the sauce to taste, and transfer meatballs and their sauce to a platter. Top with parsley with yogurt on the side!

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