Lamb Meatballs

I grew up eating beef, pork and chicken, and turkey, all animals we raised on my family's farm, but lamb was never on the menu. Happily, one of my favorite local farms- Plate Dale Farm- started raising lambs for meat, and after trying one glorious lamb chop, I was hooked.

The flavor of their lamb is "clean" in that it doesn't have a gamey flavor. I've been enjoying ground lamb for meatballs and shepherds pie, as well as lamb chops. Next up is a beautiful lamb shoulder I'm thinking of roasting for Easter.

I love these meatballs with a side of tzatziki and some rice or flatbread.

Ingredients:

-1 lb ground lamb

-1 small onion, very finely diced

-1 clove garlic, finely minced

-1 egg

-1 slice lightly toasted bread (white, sourdough or whole wheat is fine, just avoid strongly flavored bread such as rye. Stale bread or the end slice is perfect here)

-1 teaspoon fine sea salt

-1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds, crushed or coarsely ground into small pieces

-freshly ground black pepper, to taste

-1 handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and use your hands to gently mix everything together.

Scoop small amounts of the meatball mixture using a tablespoon as a measure if you'd like, or eyeball it.

Roll each scoop with your hands until a smooth ball is formed, and place the meatballs on a platter until you've formed them all.

Put a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium low heat, and place the meatballs in, leaving a little room between so they can brown evenly. You may need to use two seperate skillets, to ensure they're not too crowded.

I've found ground lamb yields enough fat to cook itself in, but if you suspect your ground lamb is quite lean, you can add a little olive oil to the pan to brown the meatballs in.

Brown the meatballs over medium low or even low heat, if you have larger burners. Turn the meatballs when they begin to turn brown nicely, and continue turning until all sides are browned. Lower the heat if necessary, to prevent them browning too quickly.

Once all sides of the meatballs are nicely browned, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for about 5 more minutes over low heat to ensure the centers are cooked through. Serve immediately (I think they're nice cold too, as leftovers!)