A bit uninspired with this blog title, but it really is (well was) a yummy dinner and a good way of getting plenty of your 5-a-day! It’s vaguely inspired by North African cooking.
For it, you will need:
- lamb mince (I use 500g for us, but we’re big eaters)
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 big handful of fresh mint, half of it finely chopped, the other half roughly chopped
- 1 big handful of fresh basil, half of it finely chopped, the other half roughly chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 sweet red pepper, chopped
- 1 carrot, sliced or chopped
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tin of chick peas
- salt, pepper, cumin seeds and paprika
- teaspoon of sugar
- olive oil
Mix the garlic, finely chopped herbs with the mince and a pinch of salt. Form meatballs. Heat up about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and brown your meatballs. Once browned on all sides, put aside. In the same frying pan, put the onions, carrots and peppers, with a teaspoon of cumin seeds and a teaspoon (or 2) of paprika. Fry until soften, then add in the tomatoes, the sugar, salt and pepper. Finally stir in the chick peas. You can add a couple of tablespoons of water if the sauce is a bit thick. Lower the heat and add in the meatballs. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes (until the meatballs are fully cooked). Before serving, stir in the roughly chopped herbs. Serve with couscous. And brag that it’s much better than whatever was on Nigella’s show tonight. Ha!
