Recipe from one of our favorite chefs in New York, April Bloomfield.
Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
- 1.1 kg boneless lamb shoulder, ask the butcher to grind
- 2 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
- grape seed oil
For the sauce:
- 1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, toasted and ground
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
- 1/2 chile
- 1 800g tin peeled whole tomatoes, drained and squished with your hands
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt
To finish:
- Greek style yogurt
- small handful of mint leaves, coarsely chopped
- small handful of coriander, coarsely chopped
- olive oil
For the meatballs:
Mix ingredients above and roll in a ball (size of a golfball). Don’t overwork the meat. Gently pinch any cracks closed so the ball doesn’t fall apart. Preheat oven at 350F. In a frying pan, add grape seed oil and get that pan as hot as you can. Add the meatballs and cook until there is a nice brown crust on all sides. Transfer to a baking sheet. Cook the meatballs for another 8 minutes in the oven. Drain grease and set aside.
For the sauce:
In a pan, cook onion in olive oil on medium low until the onion is soft and lightly brown. Add the garlic and chile. Cook for another few minutes. Add the coriander and cumin seeds and cook for a few more minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add 1/4 litre of water (I prefer my sauce a little chunky, so adjust accordingly) and simmer for about 5 more minutes. For a chunky sauce, take about half of the sauce, transfer to a blender and blend until the sauce is smooth. Add this back to the sauce in the pan. Cover the pot and allow to simmer for another 20 minutes. Add the meatballs. To finish: With the sauce on medium, crack the eggs in the sauce. Cover the pot and cook for 10-12 minutes (I prefer my eggs runny, so adjust accordingly). Distribute the meatballs and eggs evenly in bowls.
To finish:
Put a dallop of yogurt in each bowl along with the coarsely chopped coriander and mint leaves. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Add salt to taste.