Lamb Meatballs In Classic Red Sauce

Ground lamb makes the best meatballs, probably the higher fat content - it makes them stay nice and moist.

The kids absolutely love them! I cook them in a nice hot pan with a bit of coconut oil, so they are golden on the outside but still tender on the inside, then let them sit in the warm red sauce to keep cooking through.

You can add cheese on top and quickly put under the grill before you serve to melt the cheese or add grated cheese to the lamb mixture before you roll into balls and get cheesy meatballs.

I serve with a mixture of caulirice and chopped brussel sprouts braised in butter see the recipe in vegetable section.

Make the meatballs about 40g each (approx size of a ping pong ball). You should get around 25 balls, that is enough for six people for dinner or four people for dinner plus leftovers for lunch.

I like to use Ceres Organics garlic powder in the meatballs, but if you don't have any, you can always use fresh garlic crushed.

INGREDIENTS

FOR RED SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 400g tins finely chopped tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Salt & pepper to taste

FOR MEATBALLS

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 onion, diced

1 kg of ground lamb mince

2 teaspoons garlic powder or 2 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon of salt

A few grinds of black pepper

1 medium egg

40g almond meal

a few leaves of fresh chopped basil or parsley for garnish

METHOD

FOR RED SAUCE

Heat the olive oil to medium heat, in a large fry pan. Eventually, this pan will hold all the meatballs and the sauce.

Add crushed garlic and stir till lightly golden approx 30 seconds, don’t walk away as garlic cooks quickly.

Add the cans of tomatoes and turn down the heat to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring when needed.

FOR MEATBALLS

Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, on medium heat, in a medium-size frypan.

Add diced onion and cook until soft, tip into a bowl. You don’t need to wash the pan as you can use it to brown the meatballs.

Add to the same bowl the ground lamb, garlic powder, dried basil, egg, almond meal, and mix thoroughly together with your hands until well incorporated.

Roll into balls about 30 – 40g in weight (smaller than a ping pong ball), not too big, so they don't fall apart when cooking.

Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, on high heat, in a medium-size frypan.

Add meatballs to frypan in batches, frequently turn so they seal nicely on the outside, are all golden and delicious, but not dry on the inside. Don't worry about cooking through because they will keep cooking when resting in the warm hot red sauce.

Once they are finished cooking, add to the frypan with the red sauce to rest (heat turned off).

Sprinkle with fresh chopped basil

When ready to eat, turn on the heat for a few minutes to warm up.

PER SERVE 4 MEATBALLS OF 40g / CALORIES 648 / PROTEIN 32..1g / CARBS 7.5g /FAT 53.2g

To make a bit more special and tasty, you can also serve with Gremolata and Mint Yoghurt Sauce see recipes in Basics.