Author Notes
Skilled-made lamb meatballs made with a spicy tomato sauce for an extra kick and crumbled feta cheese. Perfect hot meal for a cold night. —Sarah | Wisconsin from Scratch
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Ingredients
- Meatballs
-
1 pound
ground lamb
-
2/3 cup
panko
-
1
egg
-
2
garlic cloves
-
1 teaspoon
ground cumin
-
1 teaspoon
salt
-
1/2 teaspoon
ground coriander
-
1/4 teaspoon
cinnamon
-
1/4 teaspoon
cayenne
-
2 tablespoons
olive oil
- Sauce
-
1/2
medium onion, chopped
-
1
garlic clove, minced
-
1-2 tablespoons
harissa paste (depending on desired spice level)
-
2 tablespoons
lemon juice
-
14.5 ounces
can of diced, fire roasted tomatoes
-
Salt to taste
-
4 ounces
crumbled feta cheese
-
2 tablespoons
mint leaves, finely chopped
Directions
-
Make the meatballs: Combine all meatball ingredients except olive oil in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Form mixture into approximately 1” balls, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (you should end up with about 15-16 meatballs).
-
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot, then add the meatballs to the hot pan. Cook 2-3 minutes a side, or until surface begins to brown, until meatballs are browned on all sides. Transfer meatballs to a plate and set aside while you start the sauce.
-
Drain out all but 1 Tbsp oil from the skillet. Return to medium heat, then add the onion and garlic, cooking until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
-
Add the harissa paste and cook 1 minute more. Add the lemon juice and tomatoes, and cook, stirring frequently, for another 3-4 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt. (note: when I used unsalted tomatoes and a harissa paste that wasn’t too terribly salty, ½ tsp salt was the perfect amount to season the sauce, but this may vary depending on what you use.)
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Stir the meatballs back into the sauce, cover skillet, and let cook over medium heat until meatballs are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
-
Remove cover from skillet, and give everything a good stir. If the sauce seems too watery, give it another minute or two to cook without the lid and it should thicken up a bit. Remove pan from heat, sprinkle feta and mint evenly over top, and serve.
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