Loaded Lamb Meatballs with Eggplant Hummus

INGREDIENTS

• 3 slices white toast bread, crusts removed, roughly torn
• ⅓ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• ½ cup pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3–4 cloves garlic, crushed
• ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 red onion, half roughly chopped and half finely sliced
• 1 egg
• 1 kilogram lamb mince
• olive oil spray
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

• Eggplant Hummus
• 2 cups Greek yoghurt
• 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 200 grams soft goat’s feta, crumbled
• ½ cup coriander leaves
• ½ cup mint leaves
• 6–8 flatbreads

Eggplant Hummus

• 2 small eggplants, total weight 600 grams
• 1 x 400 gram tin cooked chickpeas, drained
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Put bread and milk in a small dish to soak. Heat olive oil in a small frying pan on the Simmering Plate and cook pine nuts and cumin seeds together for 3–4 minutes until lightly golden and fragrant.

Put bread and milk in a food processor and add spices, garlic, chilli flakes, lemon zest, roughly chopped onion and egg. Whiz to combine, add lamb mince and pulse to mix together.

Lastly, add half of the pine nuts and cumin seed mixture and pulse again briefly. Season with salt and pepper then tip into a container, cover and refrigerate for half an hour.

Roll into 24 large golf ball-sized balls and refrigerate again.

Line an oven tray with baking paper. Put meatballs on the lined tray and lightly spray with oil then bake for 20 minutes in the Roasting Oven, turning once during cooking. Rest the meatballs for 3–4 minutes while the flatbreads heat in the oven, and serve with Eggplant Hummus (recipe below) yoghurt, a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, finely sliced red onion, feta, fresh herbs and the remainder of the pine nuts and cumin seeds.

Eggplant Hummus

Line an oven tray with baking paper. Wash and dry eggplants well then poke 7–8 slits in each eggplant with a small sharp knife.

Place on the prepared tray and cook in the Roasting oven for 40–45 minutes until easily pierced with a knife. Trim off stems and chop into large chunks.

Put remaining ingredients in a food processor, add eggplant and whiz to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve drizzled with a little extra olive oil.

Recipe is by https://www.dish.co.nz/recipes/loaded-lamb-meatballs-eggplant-hummus