Fancying something a little different to our standard shepherds pie, I wanted to put something together that was healthy, easy and quick and something that both myself and James would enjoy.
These meatballs can be made ahead of time and cooked later making them even quicker. I cooked mine in our air fryer (which I use for almost everything) but they can just as easily be cooked on the hob in a frying plan.
Ingredients
500g Edcombe Farm lamb mince
100g breadcrumbs
1 onion, peeled and chopped finely
50g pine nuts (you could use pumpkin seeds but pine nuts are one of my favourite things)
1tbsp chopped mint, fresh or dried
1tsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Start by cooking the onions slowly over a gentle eat, chop the pine nuts or pumpkin seeds into medium-small pieces and add to the onions. Cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring regularly to ensure the nuts/seeds do not burn. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
2. In a large bowl add the lamb mince, breadcrumbs, mint, cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Once the onion mixture has cooled enough to be handled add to the mince mixture. With your hands, bring everything together making sure it is all thoroughly mixed.
Top tip: to check the seasoning is perfect, cook a small amount in a frying pan and then adjust the seasoning as needed!
3. Form the mixture into evenly sized balls - I made 12 balls. You do not want them to be too large as they need to fit inside a pitta bread.
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan to a medium heat, you don't need to add any oil, and add the balls. Cook them on the medium heat, turning regularly so they cook evenly. As I said above I cooked me in our air fryer, if you chose to do this following the cooking instructions for your appliance.
5. Whilst the meatballs are cooking, toast some pitta breads and spread with humous - I used red pepper as that's what I had. I also filled the pittas with some chopped winter salad leaves and some diced red pepper. Once the meatballs are cooked through add to the pittas and serve immediately. I topped with some sweet chilli sauce to add a bit of sweetness but some plain yoghurt would also work.
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