Lamb Entertaining Main

Yotam Ottolenghi's lamb meatball and semolina dumpling soup

Name: Yotam Ottolenghi's lamb meatball soup recipe
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 285g lamb mince; 35g breadcrumbs; 62.50 ml coarsely grated onion; 62.50 ml finely chopped flat-leaf parsley; 3/4 tsp ground cumin; 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 small onion, roughly chopped; 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 2 fresh jalapenos, halved, seeded, roughly chopped; 62.50 ml (60m) extra virgin olive oil; 90g tomato paste; 125.00 ml finely chopped coriander, plus extra, to serve; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1/4 tsp ground turmeric; 285g bunch silverbeet or rainbow chard, stems removed, leaves finely shredded; 3 tsp fine semolina; 1/2 tsp white sugar; 950ml chicken stock; 50.00 ml lemon juice; 210.00 ml buttermilk, plus 210.00 ml extra, to serve; 50g unsalted butter, melted; 1 large egg; 1/4 tsp baking powder; 50g breadcrumbs; 90g semolina

Rate now

Yotam Ottolenghi's lamb meatball and semolina dumpling soup with greens

Jump to recipe

by Yotam Ottolenghi

Jun 26, 2024

"This hearty soup is a meal in a bowl. It is very much inspired by Iraqi kubba hamuth." - Yotom Ottolenghi

Lamb meatballs

285g lamb mince
1/2 cup (35g) fresh breadcrumbs (see note)
1/4 cup coarsely grated onion
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
3/4 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Broth

1 small onion, roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 fresh jalapenos, halved, seeded, roughly chopped
1/4 cup (60m) extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup (90g) tomato paste
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander, plus extra, to serve
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
285g bunch silverbeet or rainbow chard, stems removed, leaves finely shredded
3 tsp fine semolina
1/2 tsp white sugar
950ml chicken stock
2 1/2 tbs lemon juice

Semolina dumplings

21/2 tbs buttermilk, plus 21/2 tbs extra, to serve
50g unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1/4 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup (50g) fresh breadcrumbs (see note)
1/2 cup (90g) fine semolina

Method

1.

To make the meatballs, add all the ingredients, except the oil, and 1/2 tsp fine salt to a medium bowl and use your hands to knead the mixture thoroughly. Use lightly oiled or slightly damp hands to roll mixture into 18 small balls and place on a plate.
2.

Heat 3 tsp of oil in a large non-stick frypan over medium-high heat. Once very hot, add the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, for 3-4 minutes, until nicely browned but not cooked through. Transfer the meatballs and any juices to a large, shallow bowl and set aside until needed.
3.

To make the broth, add the onion, garlic and jalapenos to a food processor and blitz into a rough paste. Add the oil to a large lidded saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion mixture and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until moisture evaporates and base of pan starts to brown. Add the tomato paste, fresh coriander, cumin, ground coriander and turmeric and cook for 11/2-2 minutes, stirring often, until deeply red.
4.

Add the greens in big handfuls, stirring with each addition, until slightly wilted. Stir in the semolina and sugar, then the stock, 1 cup (250ml) water, 11/2 tsp fine salt and a good grind of pepper, and bring to the boil over high heat. When mixture comes to the boil, turn heat down to medium and leave to simmer, untouched, for 15 minutes.
5.

While the broth simmers, make the dumplings. In a large bowl, whisk the buttermilk, butter, egg, baking powder, 1/2 tsp fine salt and a good grind of pepper until just combined. Add the breadcrumbs and semolina and mix until just combined; don’t overwork it, or dumplings will be tough. Set aside for 5 minutes to firm up slightly, then use wet hands to shape mixture into 18 small balls. Make sure they’re nice and compact as you shape them.
6.

Turn the heat on the broth down to medium-low and stir in the meatballs. Next, gently lower in the dumplings one by one, without stirring. Cover the pot and leave to cook for 10 minutes, until the dumplings have puffed up and are cooked through when a metal skewer inserted at centre comes out clean. Remove the lid and gently stir in the lemon juice.
7.

Divide the soup among 4 bowls, then drizzle with the extra buttermilk, sprinkle with extra coriander and serve warm.

Rate now

Recipe Notes

To make fresh breadcrumbs, slice the crusts off standard white sandwich bread. Cut crustless bread into pieces, then blitz in a food processor into fine crumbs.