Greek lamb meatball, feta and tomato bake
Add Greek flavours of feta, oregano and pine nuts to this meaty tray bake and serve straight from the oven to allow everyone to dig in
INGREDIENTS :
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 600g passata
- 200ml red wine
- 2½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1½ tsp dried chilli flakes
- 4 tbsp runny honey
- fresh oregano chopped to make 2 tbsp
- 200g feta
- a handful chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve
- 25g pine nuts, toasted
- bread, couscous or orzo, to serve
- 400g lamb mince
- 200g lean beef mince
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 75g greek yogurt, plus extra to serve
- 75g soft breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
MEATBALLS
DIRECTION:
- Mash all the meatball ingredients with lots of freshly ground black pepper and a big pinch of salt. Roll into 18 fat meatballs and chill for 30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 170C/fan 150C/gas 3. Put the olive oil in a frying pan and, in batches, brown the meatballs well on all sides, then scoop out.
- Pour off any oil, add the chopped tomatoes and passata to the frying pan and bring to the boil, scraping up all the meaty bits as you do. Transfer to a deep baking dish or oven tray. Stir in the red wine, cinnamon, chilli flakes, honey and oregano, and some seasoning. Sit the meatballs in the sauce, then cover the whole dish with foil. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Turn the heat up to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Remove the foil and break over the feta in chunks, then put back in the oven for 15 minutes. When it’s ready, scatter with parsley, sprinkle with pine nuts and dollop with a little greek yogurt, if you like. Serve with bread, couscous or orzo.
