Stranger Foods

Spiced lamb meatballs with sumac roasted cauliflower & pomegranate

Serves 4 | Prep 10 mins | Cook 25 mins

Think about the best lamb kofte or kebabs you’ve ever had and you’ll have an idea of how flavoursome this dish is. The warming spices in the lamb work perfectly with the pomegranates and lemony cauliflower. Serve with flatbreads or cous cous.

Source: The Quick Roasting Tin

Ingredients

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Imperial

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For the meatballs

400 g minced free-range lamb
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp mild chilli powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1 free-range egg
2 heaped teaspoons gram (chickpea) flour (optional)
15 g fresh mint leaves

For the rest

1 large cauliflower, cut into medium-sized florets, plus the leaves
3 heaped teaspoons sumac
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pomegranate, seeds only
handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (optional)

Instructions

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Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6. Tip all the meatball ingredients into a food processor and blitz briefly until everything comes together evenly.
Tip the cauliflower, leaves, spices, salt and oil into a large roasting tin and mix until everything is evenly spiced.
With damp hands (I keep a bowl of water nearby), take walnut-sized pieces of the lamb mix and roll them into small meatballs. Dot them among the cauliflower pieces as you go - you should have about 20-22.
Transfer to the oven and roast for , until the tops of the meatballs are evenly coloured and the cauliflower is cooked through. Whisk the lemon zest, juice and extra virgin olive oil together, drizzle this over the traybake, then scatter over the pomegranate seeds and parsley. Drizzle over the pomegranate molasses (if using) and serve the traybake hot.
NOTE: If you already have some gram or chickpea flour in the cupboard, it adds a really silky texture to the finished meatballs, but don’t worry if you don’t have any in, as they’re still gorgeous.

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