Main content

Cookalong Dinner: Stephen Terry's Lamb Meatballs

Top chef Stephen Terry - of The Great British Menu fame - takes up the challenge of making a family dinner using Welsh lamb on a tight budget.

Welsh Lamb Meat Balls with Penne Pasta, Root Vegetables and Rosemary

Ingredients

  • 750g minced lamb (preferably shoulder of lamb as it has a good ratio of fat to meat)
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 100g Dried breadcrumbs
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 slices of white bread (crusts removed, soaked in water and squeeze out the excess water)
  • Olive oil
  • 1 litre of Chicken stock (using a stock cube)
  • 3 large carrots (peeled, quartered & diced)
  • 3 sticks of celery (washed, peeled & cut into 陆cm slices)
  • 1 small celeriac (peeled & diced, similar size to the carrot)
  • Sprig of rosemary
  • Based on 100g of dried pasta per person

Method

  1. Combine the minced lamb with the soaked bread, eggs, dried breadcrumbs and seasoning, mix together thoroughly.
  2. Divide the mix into approx 35g balls, by rolling the mixture into a ball in the palm of your hand giving you roughly five pieces per person.
  3. Gently fry the meatballs in a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes each side in a little oil until they are golden brown. Remove, drain onto kitchen paper and place in the stock in a roasting tray/baking dish with the root vegetables & rosemary. Cover the tray with foil and bake in the oven at 150掳C for 30 minutes.
  4. Take the roasting tray/baking dish out of the oven and carefully remove the meatballs from it, add the pasta to the cooking stock, replace the meatballs on top of the pasta and put the roasting tray/baking dish back in the oven without the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes.