Dinner with Rukmini
Browse all of the recipes in Rukmini Iyer’s cookbooks by ingredient.
Spiced Lamb Meatballs with Sumac Roasted Cauliflower and Pomegranate
If you love lamb kofte, you'll adore this quick and easy roasting tin dish, packed with Middle Eastern-inspired flavours and succulent lamb meatballs.
From the book
The Quick Roasting Tin
75 fast and simple one dish recipes to revolutionise the way you cook
Leave the hard work to the oven with minimal prep and less washing up
From fast dinners to simple desserts
Introduction
Think about the best lamb kofte or kebabs you’ve ever had and you’ll have an idea of how flavoursome this dish is. The warming spices in the lamb work perfectly with the pomegranates and lemony cauliflower. Serve with flatbreads or cous cous.
Ingredients
| For the meatballs: | |
| 400g | minced, free-range lamb |
| 1 | small onion, roughly chopped |
| 1 tsp | mild chilli powder |
| 1 tsp | ground coriander |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| 1 tsp | sea salt flakes |
| 1 | free-range egg |
| 2 heaped tsp | gram (chickpea) flour (optional) |
| 15g | fresh mint leaves |
| For the rest: | |
| 1 | large cauliflower, cut into medium-sized florets plus the leaves |
| 3 heaped tsp | teaspoons sumac |
| 2 tsp | ground cumin |
| 1 tsp | sea salt flakes |
| 1 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 | lemon, zest and juice |
| 1 tbsp | extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 | pomegranate, seeds only |
| a handful of | flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped |
| 1 tbsp | tablespoon pomegranate molasses (optional) |
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6. Tip all the meatball ingredients into a food processor and blitz briefly until everything comes together evenly.
Tip the cauliflower, leaves, spices, salt and oil into a large roasting tin and mix until everything is evenly spiced.
With damp hands (I keep a bowl of water nearby), take walnut-sized pieces of the lamb mix and roll them into small meatballs. Dot them among the cauliflower pieces as you go – you should have about 20–22.
Transfer to the oven and roast for 25 minutes, until the tops of the meatballs are evenly coloured and the cauliflower is cooked through. Whisk the lemon zest, juice and extra virgin olive oil together, drizzle this over the traybake, then scatter over the pomegranate seeds and parsley. Drizzle over the pomegranate molasses (if using) and serve the traybake hot.
