A few years ago Sheila’s nephew Simon, gave me the Jerusalem cook book for a birthday present…I just loved it and was so inspired by the way Yotam used fresh herbs, ingredients and textures to create the most amazing, interesting and flavour-packed meals and dishes.
Ingredients
5 tablespoons olive oil
350 gr broad beans, fresh or frozen
4 whole thyme sprigs
6 garlic cloves, sliced
8 spring onions, cut at an angle into 2 cm segments
3 teaspoons lemon juice
500 ml chicken stock
salt and black pepper
For the Meatballs
300 gr minced beef
150 gr minced lamb
1 medium onion, finely chopped
120 gr breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons each of chopped flat leaf parsely, mint, dill and coriander, plus extra if each to garnish
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon baharat spice mix
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons capers, chopped
1 egg, beaten
Method
Add the broad beans into a pot with plenty of salted boiling water and blanch for two minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Remove the skins from half the broad beans and discard the shells
Place all of the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper and mix well with your hands.
Form into balls about the same size of ping pong balls. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in an extra-large frying pan for which you have a lid. Sear half the meatballs over a medium heat, turning them until they are brown all over, about 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining meatballs. Remove from the pan and wipe it clean.
Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pan. Add the thyme, garlic and spring onion and saute over a medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the unshelled broad beans, 1 and a tablespoon of lemon juice, 80ml of the stock, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and plenty of black pepper. The beans should be almost covered with liquid. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
Return the meatballs to the pan with the broad beans. Add the remaining stock, cover the pan and simmer gently for 25 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. If it is very runny, remove the lid and reduce a little. Once the meatballs stop cooking they will soak up a lot of the juices so make sure there is still plenty of sauce at this point. You can leave the meatballs now, off the heat, until ready to serve.
Just before serving, reheat the meatballs and add a little water, if needed, to get enough sauce. Add the remaining herbs and a tablespoon of lemon juice, and scatter the shelled broad beans and stir very gently. Serve immediately.
Original recipe Yotam Ottolenghi Jerusalem
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