Great balls of....lamb!

I'm going on holidays!
what, "again"?
I'm not on holidays all the time, I just tend to talk more about my holidays than about my everyday life (would you really want to know about my daily work routine? Nooo, that's what I thought)

This time, I'm off to Kerala, the very South West of India. I've never been to India, so it's going to be a great adventure. 
But don't worry, I've got The Man and Chocolat my Travelling Bear to hold my hand when we'll get lost, cross rivers and eat scary food. I'll bring back lots of pictures and I hope so more great recipes!

In the meantime, I won't let you starve, here one my favourite savoury recipes of the moment.
See you in two weeks! 

Spicy and Minty Lamb meatballs

If you had asked me a couple of months ago: why would you get into the trouble of making your own meatballs?" I wouldn't have known what to answer. 

The truth is, you can find good meatballs in supermarkets. 

But, it's so much fun to make them yourself, and to flavour them following your instinct of the moment!

Here, I went for mint and lamb meatballs, but you can swap the lamb with beef, and flavour them with whichever herbs and spices you like.

This dish is light, packed with flavour, and it's easy to double or triple the quantities if you have lots of guests over, without being so much more work. Give them a go!

Ingredients for the courgette carpaccio (for 2 people)
2 large courgettes (or 3 small)
half a lemon
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Make the courgette carpaccio

1/ Wash the courgettes, cut the ends, leaving the skin on
2/ With a peeler, slice the courgettes accross the full length, place them in a bowl
3/ Drizzle with the juice of half a lemon, few tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper, and leave to marinate 30min to an hour

Ingredients for the spicy minty and lamb meatballs
Approx 400 minced lamb
a dozen of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp of white breadcrumbs
3 tbsp of milk
1 or 2 spring onions (white and green parts), finely chopped
1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp cumin or coriander seeds, salt and pepper, and pretty much any spice you might like

Make the meatballs: 
1/ In a large bowl, place the breadcrumbs and milk for a couple of minutes until the breadcrumbs have absorbed the milk

2/ Add all the other ingredients and mix well until combined. With your hands, form balls the size of approximately the size of a small ping pong ball (but you can make them bigger if you like) and place them in the fridge for 1/2 hour to ensure that they're stick together before you cook them

3/ Fry them on the barbecue or in a pan slightly oiled. 

Side fresh sauce
Mix together 3 or 4 tbsp or grecque yoghurt with fresh basil finely chopped, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper

To Serve: 
In a wrap (I bought square wraps from M&S), place 3 meatballs, a few rocket leaves, a dollop of side fresh sauce, roll and close the wrap, and serve aside the courgette carpaccio. Enjoy!

Alternative: you can serve the meatballs with couscous, courgette carpaccio and side fresh sauce.