Spanish cuisine · Meat & Kebab

Lamb Meatballs with Mint

Lamb meatballs with fresh mint and cumin, finished in a Moorish-spiced tomato sauce.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 600 g ground lamb
• 1 bunch mint
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 egg
• 50 g breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp cumin (ground)
• 1 tsp paprika (sweet)
• 800 g chopped tomatoes (canned)
• 150 ml white wine
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Finely dice the onion, grate two cloves of garlic and finely chop half the mint leaves; knead thoroughly with the ground lamb, egg, breadcrumbs, cumin, salt and pepper.
2. Chill the mixture for 15 min, then shape with damp hands into 20 walnut-sized meatballs.
3. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan and brown the meatballs on all sides over medium heat for 5–6 min, then remove them – they don't need to be cooked through yet.
4. Sauté the remaining garlic in the leftover oil for 1 min, toast the paprika in for 30 sec, and deglaze with the white wine.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and simmer uncovered for 10 min until the sauce is noticeably thicker; then add the meatballs and let sit covered for 15 min.
6. Sprinkle with the remaining olive oil and mint leaves and serve hot with bread as a tapa.