Spanish Lamb Meatballs
with roasted cauliflower, chickpeas, and mint
Ingredients
- Onions - 1, chopped
- Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
- Mint, fresh - 3 Tbsp, finely chopped
- Ground lamb, lean - 1 lb
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
- Cumin - 1 1/2 tsp
- Paprika, smoked - 1 1/2 tsp ((preferably Spanish Pimentón))
- Eggs - 1, beaten
- Cooking oil - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Crushed tomatoes (28 oz / 794 g can) - 1 can
- Red wine vinegar - 1/4 cup
- Chicken stock - 1 cup
- Mint, fresh - 1 Tbsp, finely chopped
- Cauliflower - 1 head, thinly sliced
- Garbanzo beans (14 oz / 397 g can) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Cooking oil - 1 Tbsp
- Paprika, smoked - 2 tsp (preferably Spanish Pimentón)
- Cumin - 2 tsp
- Lemons - 1/2, juice of
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Onions / Garlic / Mint (for meatballs and cauliflower) - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Cauliflower - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Make meatballs - In a mixing bowl, add the lamb, garlic, mint, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and the egg in a large bowl. Gently knead the meatball mixture with your hands just until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Wet your hands, then break off a piece of the mixture and roll into a 1-inch balls. (Can be done up to 1 day ahead)
- Garbanzo beans - Drain and rinse.
Unlock this meal along with hundreds of smart meal plans and never stress about "What's for dinner?" again
Try for freeLearn More
Make
- Preheat the oven to 450F (232C) degrees.
- Arrange cauliflower on a sheet pan and drizzle with oil, smoked paprika, cumin, and some salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Place cauliflower in the oven and roast until the edges are brown and become crisp, ~20 minutes. When the cauliflower has browned, add chickpeas to pan and allow to heat through another 2 minutes.
- While the cauliflower is roasting, heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and brown all over, 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the skillet so that the meatballs brown evenly. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned meatballs to a bowl.
- If the meatballs have released too much fat, drain off all but 1 tablespoon (for 4 servings; adjust accordingly if customizing). Add the onion and cook until soft and lightly browned, ~5 minutes. Add tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and chicken stock, and cook to blend the flavors and reduce the sauce, ~5 minutes.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat until they are cooked through and the sauce reduces, ~5 to 10 minutes
- Remove cauliflower and chickpeas from oven when crispy. Drizzle with fresh lemon juice, and sprinkle with fresh mint.
- Assemble plates of meatballs in sauce and roasted cauliflower with chickpeas. If desired, garnish meatballs with additional chopped mint. NOTE: If you have leftover yogurt sauce from the Indian chicken wraps, or extra plain yogurt in the fridge it makes a great topping to the meatballs. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
80 reviews
Added couscous as a side and used turkey instead of lamb. Delicious flavors. I might use less vinegar next time. Next time I will definitely double the meat for this amount of sauce.
0 HelpfulSubbed soyrizo for lentils and added some cabbage, but otherwise kept the other ingredients as is. Very delicious soup!
0 HelpfulSo so good! I doubled the meat and all spices in the meatballs and used about half of the stock called for. Added pita bread on the side. Definitely company worthy.
0 HelpfulI skipped the mint and the egg but followed everything else as written (besides a little extra garlic). So delicious! This makes a lot of sauce but it's great over the veggies too. I thought the sauce was tasty, I added a little salt to taste, a little bit of fat I drained from the meatballs and a squeeze of lemon. I will be making this one again.
0 HelpfulThis was good but not too exciting. The sauce was thin, and it seemed like too much for the amount of meatballs.
0 Helpful