Lamb

Spiced lamb meatballs with chard, celery and cinnamon

Name: Spiced lamb meatballs with chard, celery and cinnamon recipe
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 bunch rainbow chard; 3 celery sticks, chopped into 5cm lengths, stringy bits removed; Rice or bread, to serve; 500g lamb mince; 1 onion, finely chopped; 40.00 ml finely chopped flat-leaf parsley; 2 tsp ground cumin; 1kg tomato; 40.00 ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 2 cinnamon sticks

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P80 Spiced lamb meatballs with chard, celery and cinnamon

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by delicious. team

delicious. team

Jun 16, 2023

“Blanched greens melting beautifully into tomato cinnamon sauce and tender, spiced meatballs – all the things we love in autumn!” Recipe by Louisa Allan and Shuki Rosenboim.

1 bunch rainbow chard
3 celery sticks, chopped into 5cm lengths, stringy bits removed
Rice or bread, to serve

Meatballs

500g lamb mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbs finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp ground cumin

Sauce

6 large (1kg) ripe tomatoes
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 cinnamon sticks

Method

1.

Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper. For the meatballs, place all ingredients, 1 tsp fine salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl and mix with your hands until well combined. Roll into 1 tbs-sized balls and place on prepared tray. Bake for 8 minutes, then turn meatballs and bake for a further 8 minutes.
2.

Meanwhile, for the sauce, coarsely grate tomatoes over a large bowl, discarding skin (after grating the tomato, you should be left holding the skin). Heat oil in a large, deep frypan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add tomato and cinnamon and simmer for 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Season.
3.

Cut chard leaves away from stalks and set aside. Trim stalks and cut into 5cm lengths. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Blanch chard stalks and leaves and celery, in batches, until wilted, refreshing as you go in a large bowl of iced water. Drain, then chop into 1cm pieces.
4.

When the meatballs are done, add them to the tomato sauce, along with the vegetables. Check the seasoning and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the sauce is thick and the meatballs are cooked through. Rest for 10 minutes before serving with warm flatbreads.