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Leon meatballs

Gary @ BigSpud
Print Recipe
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

For the meatballs

  • 6 pitta breads
  • 120 ml milk
  • 1 kg minced lamb
  • A small bunch of parsley finely chopped
  • A small handful of mint finely chopped
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 cloves of garlic chopped

For the sauce

  • 30 ml olive oil
  • 3 cloves of garlic crushed
  • 2 x 800g tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon harissa
  • A handful of basil chopped
  • A handful of parsley chopped
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions
 

  • Rip the flatbread into pieces and soak in the milk for 10 minutes. Then put the bread into a mixing bowl, add the mince and stir in the parsley, mint, oregano, garlic and some seasoning.
  • Mix well, then roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls.
  • On a griddle pan, brown the balls quickly - it's all about colouring them and not cooking them through ... five minutes total cooking time with about three turns on the griddle.
  • To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and gently fry the crushed garlic. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and harissa and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the sauce has reduced. Put in the meatballs and continue to simmer for a further 20 minutes with a lid on until the sauce looks about right.
  • Lastly, stir in the herbs and have a final seasoning check.