Lamb And Feta Meatballs With Tomato Sauce

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed with 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 large tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 ounce fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped, plus extra leaves to serve
• 1 ounce flat leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
• 1 egg
• 7 ounces feta
• 2 ounces pine nuts, lightly toasted
• salt and pepper

Recipe

• 1 heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and add the garlic. when the garlic sizzles, quickly add the tomatoes and a generous grinding of pepper. cook over a high heat for about 4 minutes, until the tomatoes collapse.
• 2 in a bowl, mix the lamb and herbs together. add the egg, season, and use your hands to mix together until it forms a paste. crumble the feta into medium-sized pieces and add half to the mixture. form into 20 even-sized balls.
• 3 heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan – large enough to take the meatballs in one layer – until very hot. add all the balls at once (or cook in 2 batches) and sear on 1 side; shake the pan to turn them all at once. fry for a total of 6 minutes on high to brown on all sides. don't worry if some fall apart. lower the heat to medium, add the tomato and garlic sauce and stir.
• 4 to serve, scatter the remaining feta over the meatballs and garnish with the lightly toasted pine nuts and extra mint leaves.