Sunday, March 28, 2021

Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Sauce #SundayFunday

These flavorful meatballs spiced with the warm flavors of the Mediterranean are served with a slightly spicy tomato sauce.  They are sure to be a hit at your next gathering.

Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are sharing Lamb recipes just in time for Easter........
I love lamb however my family, except for my son who lives in VA and my third daughter, are not lamb fans at all.  Thus I rarely have it unless I order it in a restaurant or serve it as a second meat or third meat which I often do for Easter.

Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Sauce dinner plate with wine


Luckily, when Stacy of Food Lust People Love, chose Lamb as her theme for this week's Sunday Funday, I had this recipe in the archives.  I had served up these tasty little meatballs as part of a Spanish Tapas and Wine Pairing that I had for my husband's siblings and their spouses a few months ago.

Let's take a look at what other lamb dishes are being served up today........

Lamb Meatballs

These meatballs are a combination of ground lamb and ground turkey, flavored with cumin, coriander and mint.  Since they were going to be part of a Tapas buffet I formed them into bite size meatballs.

Tomato Sauce

While the meatballs were baking I made the sauce.  I did this well before my company was to arrive and then I placed it all into a slowcooker to keep it warm for serving.

This is a bittersweet post for me.  My husband's siblings had come to see him as he had just gotten out of the hospital where he had spent a week in ICU with a brain bleed.  We were very blessed.  They got the bleed, caused by high blood pressure, under control and he suffered no permanent damage.  He was still pretty weak when we had this gathering but he was alive and recovering so we had much to celebrate.

Little did we know that this would be that last time we would all be together.  A week after this gathering Frank's sister's husband was diagnosed with cancer.  He went into the hospital and died in 2 very short weeks.  I am so grateful that we had this last gathering with them and that I made these meatballs as he was a lamb lover as well.



appetizers, lamb, meatballs, turkey, Mediterannean, Spanish, tomato sauce, slow cooker, crock pot, make ahead
Appetizers
Spanish
Yield: 12 appetizer servings
Author: Wendy Klik
Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

These flavorful meatballs spiced with the warm flavors of the Mediterranean are served with a slightly spicy tomato sauce. They are sure to be a hit at your next gathering.
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 4 Hourinactive time: 3 HourTotal time: 7 H & 20 M

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. ground lamb
  • 8 oz. ground turkey
  • 2 slices whole wheat bread
  • 1 egg
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced and divided
  • 4 T. chopped fresh mint leaves, divided
  • 1 t. ground coriander
  • 1/2 t. ground cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1/2 c. dry red wine
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

Instructions

  1. Tear the bread into pieces and place in a food processor, pulse until fine crumbs.
  2. Place the lamb, turkey, bread crumbs, egg, half the shallots, half of the garlic, 2 Tablespoons of the mint, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper into a large bowl.  Using clean hands, mix to combine.  Shape into little meatballs using a small cookie scoop and place onto a baking sheet that has been covered in parchment or a silicone baking mat. 
  3. Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 10 minutes.  Set aside.
  4. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over med heat.  Add the remaining shallots and cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant.  Stir in the remaining garlic cook for 30 seconds longer.  Add the wine, cayenne and a pinch of salt.  Simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes.  Pour into a slow cooker, add the meatballs and cook on low for 2-4 hrs.
  5. Alternately, you can simmer the sauce on the stove for 20-30 minutes adding the meatballs for the last 10 minutes to warm through and serve immediately.

Notes:

Adapted from a recipe found at Eating Well

Calories

149.58

Fat (grams)

8.82

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.73

Carbs (grams)

4.69

Fiber (grams)

0.87

Net carbs

3.83

Sugar (grams)

1.05

Protein (grams)

11.06

Sodium (milligrams)

106.78

Cholesterol (grams)

53.84
Created using The Recipes Generator

8 comments:

  1. How can anyone not like lamb? These sound delicious!!!

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    Replies
    1. They were...my husband said they were okay. If I make lamb he will eat it but he never goes back for seconds LOL.

      Delete
  2. Such a blessing that you all were able to be together one last time, Wendy. <3 Your meatballs in tomato sauce would be a hit at our house for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We love lamb and we LOVE meatballs. I will have to try this soon. Thanks for sharing, Wendy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This sounds like such a delicious dish!! Love that tomato sauce and that they're slow cooked; I can just imagine how good that must have smelled!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the idea of baking the meatballs and then cooking them in the sauce, mouthwatering dish!

    ReplyDelete

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