serves
4-6
prep
20 minutes
cook
30 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
4-6
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
30
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 100 g (3 oz) haloumi, finely diced
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 30 g (1 oz/1 cup) chopped parsley, plus extra to serve
- 50 g (1 oz/¼ cup) finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg, whisked
- 250 g lamb mince
- 250 g beef mince
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- sourdough bread, to serve
Smoky tomato sauce
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ red capsicum (pepper), diced
- 1 red chilli, diced (keep the seeds if you like it hot)
- 1 celery stick, diced
- ½ tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- ½ tbsp tomato paste (concentrated purée)
- 425 g (15 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
Resting time: 30 minutes
Instructions
To make the meatballs, put the onion, garlic, haloumi, oregano, parsley, parmesan cheese and egg in a large bowl and mix well. Break up the mince, add to the bowl with salt and pepper to taste, and mix until well combined. Roll the mixture into 3–4 cm (1½ -1 3/4 inch) round balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook, moving them around frequently, for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a bowl. To make the smoky tomato sauce, using the same saucepan, cook the onion, garlic, capsicum, chilli, celery and fennel seeds for 7 minutes, until tender. Add the paprika and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low, add the tomato and cook for 10 minutes to develop the flavours and reduce the sauce. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes, or until tender and cooked through. Transfer the meatballs and sauce to a serving bowl. Scatter over the extra parsley, and serve with lemon wedges and sourdough.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
