Harissa Lamb Flatballs in Flatbread with Hummus

Well, that title describes the basics of it, anyway!

For those of you who are wondering what the heck a "flatball" might be, it is basically a flat meatball, a burger shape, a small circular "cake" shape.  Now I have an unreasonable hatred of the word "patty" ..... arrrgh, I hates it, hates it I tells ya!  So I won't be using that one, but that's basically what a flatball is.

So, having explained that, let's talk about the dish.

In the past, I have made all sorts of different variations of this dish of which the Harissa Lamb in Flatbreads with Tzatziki and the Kibbeh Meatballs in Pitta Bread are great examples.  However, there is a certain clumsiness involved in trying to eat either a flatbread or a pitta bread that is stuffed with small ball shaped items that are constantly trying to escape.  More often than not, with me, they do escape - right down my cleavage.  Which is a neat trough for them to land in, but can be embarrassing when it comes to retrieval - and boy, that Harissa really does leave a stain!
 

Flatballs .... see?  :)

This is why, when I was thinking about doing the Harissa paste/Lamb mince thing again, I decided to go with the flatball option, instead of a meatball shape.  The good news is, that it works and works beautifully.  Each flatball sits nicely and behaves itself well as you munch your way through.  There is inevitably the occasional bid for freedom, but it is a whole lot easier to keep under control than having three or four wilful meatballs in your sandwich.

Basic hummus - recipe from "Jerusalem"

The day before making the flatballs, I had made some hummus.  Now I remember making hummus previously and although it wasn't a drama to make - just chuck everything in the food processor and blitz - it wasn't exactly wonderful hummus.  Then I received Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi's cook book "Jerusalem" for Christmas.  (You are going to get SO fed up hearing about it!).  In this they have a recipe for basic hummus, but using soaked dried chick peas - so hummus very much from scratch.  They also have a novel way of preparing the chick peas that leaves them extremely tender - more so than tinned - and beautifully flavoured.  I won't go into the recipe here as the next time I make some I want to photograph the process and blog it for you.  However, if you're anticipating making some soon - the recipe can be found here so you can try it for yourself - it is well worth doing.
 

Be aware that they spit absolutely EVERYWHERE!  lol

I wanted to use some of my home made hummus in the flatball recipe, but don't feel you have to.  By all means buy in a good reliable hummus (Sabra is our favourite) to use instead.  If you buy in some dipping ammunition (carrot sticks, apple slices, pitta bread, oatcakes - you get the idea), you can make very good use of the leftovers one evening, with a glass of wine.

The Tzatziki is simplicity itself to make, however I did give it a little bit of extra glamour by adding a spoonful of soured cream (I had some looking for a home to go to), baby cucumbers diced very finely (I adore those baby cucumbers) and mint from the garden.  But again, if you don't fancy making it or don't have the time/ingredients - just buy some.  Life is to short to be agonising over bought -v- home made tzatziki .

Now don't be tempted to leave the rocket out of the mix.  I know it's not the cheapest thing to buy (although it has come down in price just lately), but you can use up the remainder as an additional salad leaf - and it can be used to great effect in sandwiches at lunchtime, too.  The rocket adds that textural crisp crunchiness that is so important when all the other ingredients are soft.  Plus, its lovely peppery flavour goes so well and adds that extra dimension to the overall flavour.

Due to the flatbreads providing the carbohydrate input, I didn't think we needed any additional carbs, so served the flatbread/flatballs with a simple salad of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, baby red peppers and red onion.  It really didn't need anything more than that to make a perfect evening meal.

This sort of food is perfect teenager fuel.  My own personal teenager - son & heir - was so in love with these that I'm sure he'd be happy no matter how many times I served them in a week.  They have everything a teenager loves - meat, spice, richness and can be eaten with the fingers.  From a Mum's perspective, they provide all the nutrients that your teenager needs in order to grow well, plus the additional benefits of fibre and fresh food - all of which can be difficult to get into a teenager.  Everyone enjoyed the meal and if you have youngsters in the family, I'd suggest making some flatballs that have less or no Harissa in them and cooking them off first, so that everyone can have what looks like the same meal and the little ones can feel all grown up.  We had two each, but for a smaller appetite I'm quite sure that just one - with the accompanying salad - would be sufficient.

Oh and the other big advantage of this meal, is that it is simplicity itself to put together.  How simply marvellous!  A meal with virtually no guilt burden.  Hurrah!

HARISSA LAMB FLATBALLS IN FLATBREAD WITH HUMMUS   (feeds 3-6)

Ingredients :

For the tzatziki :

150g greek yoghurt
50g sour cream
2-3 baby cucumbers or a 2" chunk of cucumber with seed removed, diced finely
1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped finely
1 tsp mint sauce - the vinegary one
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.

For the flatballs :

500g minced lamb, fresh from the fridge and very cold
3 tsp Harissa paste (or to taste)
half a red onion, finely diced
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tbsp fresh finely chopped mint
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp sunflower oil
6 flatbreads (I used sundried tomato & onion flavour ones, but plain would do fine)
200g hummus
50g rocket.

Method :

To make the tzatziki, spoon out the Greek yoghurt and sour cream into a bowl and mix together.  Add the chopped cucumbers, mint and mint sauce and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir to combine, taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary, then leave to let the flavours mingle.

In a large bowl, combine the minced lamb with the Harissa paste, red onion, chopped mint, dried rosemary, egg yolk and a good pinch each of salt and pepper.  Mix well so that the ingredients are well combined.

Smooth the top of the mixture, then divide into six by - with the tip of your spoon - drawing a line across to halve, then divide each half into three with two more lines.  This should ensure that you get roughly the same amount for each flatball.

Spoon out one sixth of the mixture into the palm of your hand and shape it into a flatball - or burger - shape approximately a half inch thick (or less), making sure to press it together to prevent any breaking apart later on in the pan.  Place it on a chopping board and continue to shape the remaining five.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a moderate to high heat, then gently place three of the flatballs into the pan.  Don't try and cook all six together, as this will overcrowd the pan and they'll just poach - which you don't want!  As soon as they are in the pan, leave them alone.  Don't be tempted to turn them, move them or fiddle about with them at all.  When you can see a line of browned lamb creeping up the side of each flatball and the underside is lovely and golden brown, then turn them carefully onto the uncooked side and leave them alone again.

Once the line of browned lamb has met up with the other side and both sides are golden brown, the juice has stopped flowing freely (but hasn't disappeared altogether) - which takes around 15-20 minutes - remove the flatballs from the pan and place onto kitchen paper and put somewhere to keep warm while you cook the remaining three.  You will know when they are cooked through, as when pressed on top they will provide some resistance.

Once all the flatballs are cooked, toast the flatbreads lightly to warm them up.

Take a flatbread and spread the whole of one side with a good layer of hummus.  Lay a small bunch of rocket on top of the hummus, followed by the flatball and finish with a good spoonful of the tzatziki.  Fold the unladen side of the flatbread over and serve with a simple salad and a napkin for the fingers!

Printable version

Harissa Lamb in flatbreads with tzatziki

I shall apologise (I'm very sorry!) first off, for posting another mince recipe so soon.  Hopefully you'll forgive me when you realise just how good this combination is - and at least it's lamb mince this time.

I do try to ring the changes with the recipes that I schedule in for the week - and blog - but some are just too good to wait.

I'm not sure where I got the idea for this dish from, to be honest.  I think I can remember seeing something on t.v. where hummus was used as a base within a pitta bread which then had other bits heaped on top, but for the life of me I can't remember which programme.  Like a lot of life, these days, it is just a blur.  I'm lucky if I can remember my own name, some days!

Flatbreads have been popular on the t.v. just recently, having been featured in Celebrity MasterChef at least twice - and it's there that I got the idea to use flatbreads instead of pitta bread.  Before I committed myself to the flatbread idea (and, I hasten to add, I had no intention of making them - not this time, anyway - so apologies if you've come here looking for a flatbread recipe) I checked via the online shopper interface whether my local Asda sold them - and it turned out that it does!

Now I like pitta bread, but I do find them to be hard work some days.  Very often, even after heating, they refuse to open properly and you wind up with your filling more "on" them than "in" them.  Plus, they seem to go very leathery and/or hard when they cool down, which is okay if you're wanting to exercise your jaw muscles - but I can do that by talking.  ~innocent look~

Flatbreads, however, have no pocket.  It's a simple matter of filling and folding them in half - much the same as a sandwich.  They are also delightfully light and fluffy - and we've discovered that Asda do three "flavours".  For this lamb dish, I used the tomato & onion version, but they also do a plain version and our favourite (which we didn't discover until after this dish, or I'd have used them here) a "coronation" (aka curried) version.

Apart from the North African flavours (which are just fabulous), the very best thing about this dish is the simplicity with which it comes together.  There really is just the one cooking process to do - the preparation of the mince - and the rest is just assembly.

For the mince, I used the little pot of Harissa paste that had been sent to me by Sainsbury's as part of their promotion of the Speciality Ingredients Range.  I've used Harissa in the past and not been terribly impressed by it - it seemed a bit pale pink in flavour, whereas I was expecting some deep, big flavours.  Well, it would appear that Harissa has come a long way since I first played with it - as the Sainsbury's Speciality Ingredients Harissa contains rose petals, red peppers, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander and caraway and is wonderfully flavoured with all the big, rich, deep combinations that I had given up on.  It is true that I did use the entire pot of paste - but then as prices for the entire range top out at £2.99, even if the little pot cost the full £2.99 it was worth it as the only other thing I used was an onion and the mince itself.

I put together a home made Tzatziki - cucumber in Greek Yoghurt, with fresh chopped mint and some seasoning - and the combination was perfect for dipping one corner of your flatbread into.  Some marinated beetroot, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese added a lovely zing to the dish.  Spicy mince, warm soft flatbread, creamy cool yoghurt and zingy beetroot - I'm beginning to sound like Greg Wallace!

Son and heir loved these flatbreads and has requested a repeat.  Hubby's one criticism, which is more a personal taste observation than a criticism, was that he would have preferred the mince to have been more "saucy" and less dry.  I loved them just the way they were and feel that to have made the mince mixture wetter would have made it problematical to keep it in the flatbread.  As it is, I spread the flatbread with hummus, then added a handful of rocket leaves and piled on the spicy mince.  The hummus did a great job of hanging onto the mince, as did the rocket.  I can imagine if the mince were more fluid, it would wind up dripping down your arm - which has its attractions, it's true!

HARISSA LAMB IN FLATBREADS, WITH TZATZIKI   (makes 6 individual flatbreads)

Ingredients :

500g lamb mince
1 onion, cut into quarters and sliced finely
1 pot (90g) Harissa paste
6 flatbreads
200g hummus 
50g rocket leaves
8cm (approx) cucumber
3-4 tbsp Greek yoghurt
2-3 sprigs fresh mint
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  Heat a large frying pan until very hot, then add the lamb mince and dry fry it until all the water has evaporated, the fat rendered out and the meat is beginning to caramelise.  Drain the fat into a container and set the drained meat to one side.

2.  Place a tablespoonful of the fat back into the pan and add the onion.  Cook on a medium heat, stirring often, until the onion is softened and a light golden brown colour.

3.  Replace the meat back into the pan and bring up to temperature, then mix in the contents of the jar of Harissa.  Reduce the heat and continue to cook for some 5 or 6 minutes, or until the flavours have combined sufficiently.  Check for seasoning.

4.  Sprinkle the flatbreads with a little water and heat in a hot oven for 3-4 minutes.

5.  Taking a flatbread, spread it liberally with hummus, then add a handful of rocket leaves to one half of the spread side.  Pile a generous spoonful of mince onto the rocket leaves and fold the flatbread over, like a sandwich.

Serve with tzatziki and a small salad including some Feta cheese.

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Taste test : veal meatballs -v- lamb meatballs

Veal meatballs right, Lamb meatballs left

In the package of veal that Farmers Choice sent to me, was a small packet of veal mince.  Now I'd been pondering over what to do with this.  It wasn't enough to use for an entire meal for the family, but I didn't want to dilute it by adding another type of mince - I wanted to sample the flavour and texture unsullied by outside influence.

Then, the obvious answer struck me.  No, not burgers (which I admit was my first thought), but meatballs.  How about I find a generic kind of meatball recipe that would suit the veal as well as another meat - and do a direct taste test comparison.

So that's what I did.

Close enough for you?  lol  Veal meatballs

I found a recipe on BBC Good Food, for Greek style lamb meatballs with tzatziki, that used just grated onion, garlic, lemon zest, mint and cinnamon in the meatballs.  All of these ingredients would go very well with the veal, I thought - so that's what I did.

I kept the two minced meats apart and put exactly the same amount of flavour ingredients into each, mixed them both by hand (washing my hands in between types) and rolled them up.

On a scale of 1-10 where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent, the lamb rated a 10 for rollability (i.e. forming a meatball without crumbling or otherwise breaking) and the veal a 9.  The veal was just slightly lighter in texture and much leaner.  Without the fat content, the meatball was slightly harder to get to stick together - but unless you were comparing the two, I doubt you'd notice.  It certainly wasn't a problem at all.

Veal meatballs

I cooked the veal meatballs first, so that they went into a clean pan.  This avoided any contamination from the lamb, which is a much stronger flavour.  The two types of meatball were identical where the cooking was concerned, as both held together perfectly and both achieved a nice colour in roughly the same time scale.

This recipe used just plain meatballs without a covering sauce.  I didn't want anything to affect the flavour of the veal, you see.

Once cooked, the two types of meatball were almost identical.  The veal had a very slightly darker colouration to the lamb, which I put down to the structure of the meat.  The veal meatballs had much less fat involved in the mince, which meant that the majority of the meat in contact with the heat of the pan was veal, as opposed to the fat in the lamb meatball.

Where flavour is concerned, the veal scored as best in both hubby's and son & heir's opinions, but I just couldn't get past my love of lamb, I'm afraid.

Don't get me wrong, however, because I really liked the veal meatballs.  Without the influence of the lamb to compare it against, I'd have been as happy as Larry with the veal.  I can't help being true to my love of lamb.

It was very interesting to have the context of the lamb to compare the veal against.  Most of us have sampled lamb at some point of another and know how lamb tastes.  Veal, however, is a different matter as it's not a meat that has been readily available.  The veal meatballs were lighter in flavour to the lamb.  For all that, though, they weren't one-dimensional, in that the veal very definitely had a mild, gentle beef flavour - but it truly is a unique flavour.  Veal doesn't taste like anything else, except veal.  All of which doesn't really help you if you've come here to try and decide whether you might like it.  In my opinion, if you like beef and you like pork, then without a doubt you'll like veal.

It is my hope that, if bloggers and the like continue to promote the consumption of British Rose Veal, that eventually (it may take some time!) the consumer will pick up the idea and demand for British Rose Veal will grow.  This will, in turn, make it possible for the millions of bull calves who are currently shot at birth, to be raised for veal in the humane and ethical conditions that are in force in the U.K.  Don't be tempted to spend a fortune on veal from the continent, as by doing so you may well be supporting the use of the barbaric veal crate system of raising veal calves and not buying the best product.  British Rose Veal is so much nicer than meat that has been produced in such a high stress environment.  You would think that the way an animal has been kept wouldn't be directly attributable to the quality of the end meat product - but believe me, it is.  Do a quick search online for farms in your local area that produce and sell veal direct from the farm, to cut out the middle man who always puts his percentage on top and you'll be getting veal in the most economic way possible.  It's not cheap at the moment, but is very well worth the cost.

GREEK STYLE VEAL MEATBALLS WITH TZATZIKI    (serves 3)

Ingredients :

500g minced veal (or lamb, or beef, or any combination)
half a red onion, grated
half a garlic clove, grated
half a lemon, zested
half a small bunch of mint, chopped gently
half a tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil.

For the Tzatziki :

150ml plain Greek yoghurt
3cm chunk of cucumber, skinned, deseeded and diced
half a sharp apple like a Braeburn, cored, sliced and cut into matchsticks
half a small bunch of mint, chopped gently
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  Put the mince, grated onion, garlic, lemon zest, mint and cinnamon into a bowl.  If using different meats, use different bowls for each and divide the other ingredients equally between them.

2.  Season very well, then use your hands to mix the ingredients until distributed evenly.

3.  Using wet hands, roll individual meatballs about the size of a walnut and set aside.

4.  To make the Tzatziki, combine all the ingredients with some seasoning to taste and mix well.  Refrigerate until serving.

5.   Place the oil into a frying pan and heat until a meatball, when placed into the pan, lightly sizzles upon contact - but don't overheat or the meatballs will burn on the outside before the inside can have cooked sufficiently.

6.  Fry until the meatballs are well coloured and cooked through.  Place onto a plate covered with kitchen paper and keep warm until serving.

I served my meatballs with the Ottolenghi's Green couscous.

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Kibbeh meatballs in pitta bread

Jolly difficult thing to photograph!

I have found, in the last few years, that I really like most Middle Eastern food.  I love lamb - I suspect I'd probably like goat too, but haven't had the opportunity to try any yet - and the flavour combinations of sweet and savoury, plus fruit and meat, seem to be right up my street, too.

I'm not too familiar with this style of cooking yet though.  I'm getting more familiar with Indian, have been pretty familiar with Greek and Italian for some time and Mexican is increasingly featuring on our menu plans.  However, Middle Eastern cuisine is creeping into the menu plan quietly as my confidence grows with it.

Hence, when I saw the recipe for Middle Eastern Kibbeh (Lebanese meatballs) by Maggie Parnell on All Recipes UK, it struck a chord because a) it was a meatball dish and I seem to be tripping over meatball dishes every day, and b) it used all the spices that we were already familiar with.

The recipe for the meatball mixture I was happy enough with, but could see some potential problems with the salad ingredients as they were, so did a little bit of tweaking where that was concerned.

Now is it just me, or does anyone else find that the pitta bread you get from a Supermarket just isn't big enough to hold salad as well as meat?  It seems to me that as soon as you've got a little bit of shredded salad in there, you've no room to put your meatballs (or whatever).  I'm going to have to abandon Supermarket pittas and buy some from our local ethnic shop, I reckon.  Might have half a chance of being able to actually fill them instead of just using the bread as "grand garnish" which falls apart within seconds.

Anyway - that aside - I really liked these meatballs, but agree with hubby that the spicing could have been a lot more obvious in the overall flavour.  The allspice just disappeared, as did the chilli powder.  If a recipe is going to include spices, then I like to be able to taste them!

I really liked the combination of the Bulgar wheat with the lamb in the meatball - but found that the 175g of Bulgar wheat was way too much for the 500g of lamb mince.  Considering that the recipe stated to use 400g of mince, that amount of wheat would have been extraordinarily excessive.  As it was, a third of the Bulgar wheat went into the dogs' dinners (which they were happy about!), to prevent it flooding out the mince.

The original recipe recommended cooking the meatballs on skewers under the grill or on a griddle pan.  Now I could quite see what would happen if I used the griddle pan - we'd have bits of exploded meatball everywhere and no actual balls in sight.  I am always loath to use the grill pan on our cooker for things that are likely to take a long time to cook, as it really doesn't do my back any favours to have to keep bending down to it.  (It's at below worktop height, as opposed to one of those that are above worktop height, you see).  So after due consideration, I reckoned that if I baked the meatballs at around 180-200degC, they would char nicely on the edges and hold together perfectly - as indeed they did.


So, all these points have been reflected in the recipe below and I am quite sure that it will be all the better for it (if not exactly authentic).


The inclusion of some Tzatziki (cucumber yoghurt dip) with the recipe has served to remind me just how much I love that stuff.  It is so easy to make, too, that I shall have to devise some ways of using it along with lunch!  Perhaps a Bulgar wheat/griddled vegetable combo with Tzatziki - hmmn, that sounds ideal.


KIBBEH MEATBALLS IN PITTA BREAD   (serves 3)


Ingredients :


100g Bulgar wheat
350ml hot lamb stock
500g lean minced lamb
1 red onion, grated
50g pine nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
half a tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp chilli powder


To serve :
6 wholemeal pitta breads (if small - otherwise, sufficient to cope with the amount of meatballs)
shredded Little Gem or Iceberg lettuce
cherry tomatoes, sliced fine
mild red chilli pepper, chopped fine
Tzatziki (cucumber yoghurt dip).


Method :


1.  Put the Bulgar wheat into a saucepan and pour over the hot stock.  Cover and leave to stand for 15 minutes.


2.  Remove the lid from the pan and, if necessary, cook the wheat over a low heat to boil off any excess liquid - whilst rendering the grain still moist.  My Bulgar wheat was of the small gauge variety and didn't need this step.


3.  Tip out onto a plate, spread to even thickness and leave to cool.


4.  Once cool, tip the wheat into a bowl and add the lamb, onion, pine nuts, coriander and dry spices.  Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.


5.  Then, using your hands, give the whole a good mix - or "squidge" - until every ingredient is evenly distributed.


6.  Divide the lamb mixture into golf-ball sized pieces and shape into balls.  Place each ball into a shallow sided non-stick baking tray.  (I found that the mixture made 18 meatballs which were divided three to a pitta bread).  If you're wanting it to go further, I'd suggest making the meatballs a little smaller.


7.  Bake the meatballs in a hot oven (200degC/400degF/Gas6) for some 35-40 minutes until slightly charred on the outside and very much cooked.  (I always break a meatball in half to check that the inside is cooked through).


8.  While the meatballs are cooking, you can get on with toasting the pitta bread and opening one side, ready to take the shredded salad.  You can also prepare the Tzatziki if you're making it yourself - or just take the lid off.  *chuckle*


9.  Once done, into each pitta bread place some shredded salad, a few slices of tomato and a sprinkling of chilli, then load up your meatballs and finally add a spoonful of Tzatziki.


10.  Serve with disposable napkins - because someone is bound to get it all down their front!


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Greek lamb meatballs with roasted vegetables - a real crowd pleaser.

I don't mind admitting, I was a bit dubious about this recipe.

It certainly looked appetising and interesting - and I figured I could tweak it around to our likes and dislikes whilst still being able to feed everyone sufficiently.  However, I had a slight reservation over the lamb mince we had roosting in the freezer.  It wasn't from our local butcher, it was an old purchase from the supermarket - before we ventured into lamb mince from the butcher.  However, it needed using up.

As it was, although the meatballs were a teensy bit paste-like on the inside, the flavours were lovely and I reckon the mince did an okay job.  Of course, the next time I do it with butcher's mince, it'll be lovely and chunky which will make for a much firmer meatball.  Delicious!  Considering the meatballs were really only mince, breadcrumbs, grated onion & mint with egg to bind them, they had an amazing flavour.  This was one of those "less is more" lessons in not cluttering up a recipe!

Where the vegetables were concerned, included in the recipe were courgette (which is fine, although son doesn't like them), cherry tomatoes (again fine, although son doesn't eat those either) and potatoes cut into wedges (which of course hubby hates, but son likes).  So, to give son something to eat, I added sweet potato cut into wedges (which pleased both son & hubby) and butternut squash cubes (again, pleased son & hubby).  Me?  I'll eat the lot!

The end result was a lovely melange of flavours - particularly with the feta crumbled over the top.  Son & heir opted out of the feta cheese, but as he had both potato and sweet potato wedges, plus butternut squash (and the ubiquitous tomato ketchup), I figured he'd be fine.

I served a Tzatziki/Raita yoghurt/cucumber/mint combo alongside, which went very nicely with the meatballs and which took on the job of a sauce, on the occasions when something a bit more moist was required.

I particularly enjoyed the mint flavour through the lamb meatballs, together with the combination of feta with courgette and the tomatoes.  Yummy.  The assembled throng declared this to very definitely be a 10 out of 10 dish, which they'd happily have again.  So that's alright then!

GREEK LAMB TRAY BAKE  (feeds 3)

Ingredients :

50g fresh white breadcrumbs

400g lamb mince

1 egg, beaten

2 onions, halved

large handful of mint, chopped

2 medium potatoes, cut into wedges

2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

half a tsp dried oregano

a flat tsp of paprika

2 courgettes, cut into batons

200g butternut squash, peeled and cut into large dice

12 cherry tomatoes, pierced

2 tbsp olive oil

50g feta cheese, crumbled

Method :

1.  Pre-heat oven to 200deg C/180deg fan/gas 6.

2.  Put the breadcrumbs, lamb mince, egg and seasoning into a bowl.  Grate in half of one onion and sprinkle in half the chopped mint.

3.  Give everything a good mix, then shape into meatballs – should make around 12-15.

4.  Place the meatballs into the fridge to cool and firm.

5.  Place both types of wedges into a bowl and add the oregano, paprika, seasoning and a tbsp of oil.  Mix to ensure everything is well coated.

6.  Decant onto a large flat roasting tray and place into the oven for 35-45 minutes, turning once.

7.  Place the meatballs onto another large flat roasting tray and add the courgettes, squash and tomatoes.  Season well and drizzle with olive oil.

8.  Add to the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the meatballs are browned and cooked through.

9.  Remove from the oven when done and sprinkle with the feta cheese and remaining mint.  Serve.

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