Greek Meatballs

What’s not to love with these meatballs, sneaking veggies into the kids, they freeze really well for dinner another night, baked, not fried and dinner served in a pitta, flat bread or roll is always a winner in our house!

If you are in barbcueing season, lucky you! These cook well on a BBQ, squeeze them onto skewers to make your own kofta or flatten them to make delicious patties.

Makes 28-30 balls. Serves 6.

Ingredients

70g gluten free fresh breadcrumbs

500g minced lamb

280g baby spinach

3 garlic cloves, peeled

15g fresh parsley leaves

100g spring onions/scallions/green onions

Zest of 1 lemon

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

If you have time, make the meatball mix a few hours before cooking but if not just carry on!

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Centigrade, line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Cook the spinach until just wilted, I use the microwave. Allow to cool enough to handle it and then squeeze the water out of it.

Blitz the bread in a food processor. Tip into a large bowl.

Now add the cooked spinach, garlic, parsley and spring onions to the processor and blitz again, tip into the breadcrumbs.

Now grate the lemon over the spinach, add the lamb and season well.

Using your hands, combine all of the ingredients really really well.

Form into small walnut sized balls. Lay on the prepared baking tray.

Slide into the oven and turn the heat down to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the outside has coloured and the meatballs are cooked through.

Serve with salad and fried haloumi in wraps, pittas or rolls or allow to cool, pour them into a zip lock bag and freeze for another day.

Slow Roast Lamb With Ancho Chilli And Garlic Marinade

Spring is finally here in Western Australia and lamb is back on the menu!

This is a great recipe of you are feeding people who aren’t too keen on chilli, bags of flavour and not too spicy. It is also slow cooked so, ideal if you are entertaining as you really have very little to do once the lamb is in the oven.

It can easily feed a bigger crowd, just add more side dishes but the leftovers are divine too, I’ll share my Mexican Stir Fried Rice recipe soon using leftovers from this lamb!

I serve this with steamed rice, fresh salsa, salad, guacamole, tostades and refried beans, that way everyone can have as little or as much as they like!

Serves 10.

2.5kg leg of lamb

3 red onions, peeled and sliced into 1cm rings

3 dried ancho chillies

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

200mls water, just under boiling point

8 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1.5 litres chicken stock

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Centigrade. Line the base of a roasting tin with the onion rings to create  a rack to keep the meat off the base, initially.

Prepare the marinade now. Place the chillies in a heat proof bowl, add the nearly boiled water and cider vinegar. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Once the chillies have soaked, carefully lift them from the water, remove the stem and seeds and return to the water. Now add all of the remaining ingredients except the onions, lamb and stock.

Using a stick blender, whizz the marinade to a thick paste.

Take the leg of lamb, using a sharp knife, stab it multiple times to at least 5cm at its thickest part.

Pour the marinade over and push it down into the cuts, make sure all of the meat is covered, underside too.

Lay the lamb onto the bed of onion rings, pour the chicken stock around the lamb, seal completely with foil and slide into the oven.

Bake for 6 hours, turn the oven up to 200 degrees Centigrade, spoon off as much of the fat as you can and return the lamb to the oven to crisp up a little, around 30 minute

Now, using tongs, pull off large chunks of meat and drop them into the pan juices, as you come across the bones remove them all. You should now have a pan of meat, juices and onions, I give this a gentle stir and then serve.

 

Leg Of Lamb With Red Wine And Garlic

This is one of the simplest ways to roast lamb and gives you spoonable, moist meat, full of flavour with the added benefit of the potatoes cooking with the meat and pan juices to save you making gravy.

While the oven is on for this I like to roast some veggies at the same time, tonight it was beetroot, carrot and parsnip with some fresh parsley, thyme and rosemary.

Use the pan juices to pour over the meat as you serve, any leftover meat and juices can be used to make shepherds pie the following night.

Serves 8-10 depending on portions

Ingredients

2.8kg leg of lamb

4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

50mls olive oil

2 onions, peeled and cut into 1cm rings

750mls red wine

750mls stock or water

salt and pepper

2-2.5kg baby potatoes, skin on

Method

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Centigrade.

Take the leg of lamb and stab all over with a sharp knife, slide a slice of garlic into each stab hole. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper.

Lay the solid onion rings into the base of a roasting tin, place the lamb on top and pop into the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, pour in the wine and stock, cover tightly with foil, return to the oven and turn down the temperature to 160 degrees Centigrade. Roast for four hours.

After the four hour roast, add the potatoes to the pan, cover again and roast for 1 hour.

Now, carefully pour as much of the pan juice as you can out of the roasting tin into a small pan.

Return to the oven to let the meat and potatoe colour up, around an hour, basting occasionally.

The meat will be spoonable so no need to carve, I just use some tongs to pull it off and reheat the pan juices to pour over the top.

Barbecued Lamb And Haloumi Salad

In a family of males, meat features regularly on the menu but this is a favourite, known as cave man salad by the boys and with the added bonus of bribing them to eat the salad as it has the meaty juices all over it!

Serves 6.

Ingredients

1.4kgs well trimmed lamb cutlets

4 garlic cloves, crushed

8 teaspoon zatar

2 teaspoons sumac

2 teaspoons ground cumin

zest and juice of 1 lime

50 mls oil

200g haloumi

200g mixed lettuce leaves

1 carrot, grated

1 capsicum, thinly sliced

6 tomatoes, quartered

1 pomegranate, seeds only

Method

Combine the lamb, garlic, zatar, sumac, cumin, lime zest and juice, salt, pepper and oil, allow to marinade for thirty minutes.

Heat the barbecue flat plate over a high flame.

Mix all the salad ingredients and plate up.

Cook the haloumi on both sides and then place it on the salad.

Now pop the meat into the BBQ and cook, turning once, to your liking.

Place the cooked meat on the salad, sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds and serve.

Dukkah

Dukkah, what can I say, one of my favourite ingredients for so many things!

On its own with bread and olive oil, as a crust for chicken and fish, spooned over salads, sprinkled over rice, popped into soups, sprinkled over a mashed avocado, added to an egg for breakfast and even sprinkled over the top of barbecued meat.

This is a totally non traditional recipe, no hazelnuts and no roasting of spices but it works for us and keeps in a jar for a couple of weeks so this is the minimum quantity that I make.

Ingredients

60g macadamia nuts

50g pistachio nuts

4 teaspoons sesame seeds

3 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

a pinch of ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons nigella seeds

a really good grinding of fresh ly ground pepper

salt to taste

Method

In a frying pan, toast the nuts until just beginning to colour. Tip onto a plate to cool.

In a large mortar and pestle, crush the nuts so that it’s mostly powdery with a few bigger pieces, don’t over do it or it will be oily and stick.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Taste and add a little more salt if needed.

Store in an airtight container.

Pomegranate Lamb Chops

Known as caveman food in our house, these chops have to be eaten with you hands for complete enjoyment and satisfaction!

By cooking these in a very hot oven you get a lovely spicy crust on the outside that I think goes rather well with the garlicky green dressing.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

850g lamb chops

3 large garlic cloves, crushed

3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

3 tablespoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

DRESSING

100mls olive oil

1 garlic clove

small bunch fresh parsley, leaves picked

2 large stalks of fresh oregano, leaves picked

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper

Method

Combine all of the lamb ingredients and leave to marinade in the fridge for 8-24 hours.

When you are ready to cook, take the lamb out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking.

Preheat the oven as high as it goes, I cook these at 240 degrees Centigrade.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Lay the chops on the prepared tray and pour over any excess marinade.

Pop the tray into the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of your chops, the meat in the photo baked for 10 minutes.

While the chops bake process the dressing ingredients to form a thick green dressing.

Once the chops are cooked, allow to rest for 5 minutes and then plate them up with the dressing poured over the top.

 

 

Garlic And Herb Lamb Fillets

This is a great speedy way of preparing meat and leaving it to marinade through the day until you cook it in the evening.

I like my lamb pink as you can see but really cook it the way you like it, the marinating in garlic will make it soo tender and tasty.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

4 lamb fillets, around 450g total

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons olive oil

salt and pepper

Method

Combine all of the ingredients in a zip lock bag and leave to marinade in the fridge for 6-8 hours.

Heat a non stick frying pan or a barbecue plate until very hot.

Pop the lamb fillets onto the hot pan or barbecue plate and turn regularly until cooked the way you like them.

Allow to rest somewhere warm for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Slow Roast Leg Of Lamb Flavoured With Ras El Hanout and Zatar

I have mentioned before my love of all things slow cooked and this is yet another option that we love!

The ras el Hanout does have a bit of spice to it but the sweetness of the lamb comes through. I serve this with pitta bread, hummus, pistachio and coriander dip, quinoa tabbouleh and a green salad, a veritable feast!

Serves 8.

Ingredients

3kg leg of lamb

80mls olive oil

zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons ras el hanout

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 tablespoon smoked paprika

3 garlic cloves

1/2 red onion

2 fire roasted capsicums, skin and seeds removed

salt and pepper

Method

Start this recipe the day before cooking.

Process all of the ingredients, except the lamb and zatar, to form a thick paste.

Place the lamb on a chopping board and stab it all over with a large knife.

Spread the paste over the entire leg and pop into the fridge, covered, for the night.

The following day, preheat the oven to 140 degrees Centigrade.

Place the lamb in a roasting tin and spread over any excess marinade.

Sprinkle the zatar over the top.

Soak a piece of baking parchment in water, squeeze the excess water out and spread the parchment over the lamb, tucking it well in.

Next, cover the parchment with foil.

Place the meat in the oven and roast for 7 hours.

After 7 hours, turn the temperature up to 200 degrees Centigrade, remove the foil and paper, baste the meat with the fat in the roasting pan and return to the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes, baste again and bake for a further 20 minutes, you should have a crust forming over the meat by now.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes, covered, before serving with hummus, bread and salads.

 

 

Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder With Lemon And Garlic

I have mentioned before my love for slow roasting and the benefits to my soul knowing dinner is quietly getting on with itself while I’m out and about.

This lamb is melt in the mouth consistency and to be honest I always roast two shoulders now as one isn’t quite enough and I love leftovers!

Leftovers are used up in Turkish prides and stuffed bread, recipes in my blog. Apologies, if I knew how to do a link for them I would!

A shoulder this size feeds 4.

Ingredients

 1.8kg lamb shoulder, bone in

2 lemons

50mls olive oil

6 gloves garlic, peeled

20g parsley leaves

Salt and pepper

500mls water

Method

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees Centigrade.

Take the shoulder and stab it all over, as deep as you can without piercing the underside, waggle the knife around a bit so there is space to fit a couple of fingers into the cuts where able.

Whizz the zest and juice of 1 lemon, the olive oil, garlic, parsley and seasoning to make a loose paste.

Pop the shoulder into a deep roasting tin.

Rub the paste all over the underside of the shoulder, flip over and then push the paste through the cuts and cover completely.

Take the second lemon and slice very thinly, remove the seeds and lay over the top of the shoulder.

Pour the water into the base of the pan.

Measure a piece of baking parchment to fit over the roast and tuck in to the sides. Squish it up under running water and then lay it over the roast, tucking the edges in.

Cover the tin with tin foil and seal well.

Pop the roast into the oven and roast for 7 hours.

Turn the heat to 200, remove the foil and parchment and drain the pan juices.

Spoon the fat from the pan juices back over the lamb and return to the oven, baste again after 20minutes and then remove after a further 20mins.

To serve, warm the pan juices back up, check for seasoning and then pour over the roast as you serve.

Oregano Bread Stuffed With Slow Roast Lamb

Otherwise known as the leftover “manwich”, guaranteed to fill the hungriest of teenage boys stomachs with a bowl of soup on the side! Also super for school lunch boxes and picnics!

I have used leftover slow roast leg of lamb in this recipe but feel free to play around with it, I have used pulled pork, beef ribs and roast chicken before.

I make batches of caramelised onions to keep in the fridge as a quick cheat, the recipe is in the blog!

As for a vegetarian option, leftover roast pumpkin and goats cheese is a winner with the caramelised onions on the base.

Serves 8-10.

Ingredients

DOUGH

500g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons instant yeast

4 teaspoons dried oregano

325-350mls warm water

FILLING

150g caramelised onions

250g lamb or your choice of cooked meat

2 large tomatoes, deseeded and diced

100g mozzarella, grated

TOPPING

1 egg, beaten

30-40g Parmesan, finely grated

Method

In a large bowl, combine the dough ingredients, making sure you get all the bits off the side of the bowl.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes.

Flour the inside of the bowl you used to make the dough and add the dough. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave to rise for 1 hour.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment. 37cm x 24cm.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Once risen, tip the dough gently onto the floured bench and cut in half.

Roll one half out until it is large enough to cover the tray.

Gently lift it onto the prepared tray, spread the caramelised onions over the base, leaving a 3 cm gap around the edge.

Sprinkle over the lamb, tomatoes and cheese.

Brush around the edges of the dough with a little of the beaten egg for the topping.

Roll the second piece of dough out to cover the existing piece.

Lay it over, press down on the edges to seal and then nip and twist all the way around the dough to seal completely, the edges should look like a turned rope.

Brush with the remaining egg and sprinkle over the Parmesan.

Set aside in a warm place for 20-30 mins and then bake for 40-45 minutes until the bread is fully cooked and the top surface is golden.

Slide the bread onto a wire rack to cool a little before cutting.