How to make The Real Greek's lamb meatballs

Easy to make and packed with Mediterranean flavour, you won’t want to share this Greek take on an Italian classic

Lamb meatballs

Our handmade meatballs topped with yoghurt and a robust tomato sauce is a meal in itself but if you can bear to share in a meze, they are really good with a Greek salad and houmous.

Serves 4-6

For the lamb kefte mix:

1kg lean minced lamb
5g Anatolian spice
75g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
​100g spring onions, finely chopped
3 tbsp freshly chopped mint
3 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

300g Greek yoghurt
​300g hot tomato sauce 
​200g red onions, finely sliced
1 tsp ground paprika

Put the minced lamb, spice, breadcrumbs and egg into a large bowl and knead together well, as if making bread. Mix in the spring onions, mint and parsley. Season well with salt and plenty of pepper.

Take equal-sized amounts of the mix (approximately 50g each) and mould into meatballs.

Place in an oiled griddle pan or under a medium-hot grill and cook for approximately 8 minutes, turning frequently.

Place 3 meatballs each on 4 serving plates. Spoon some yoghurt over the meatballs, then place another meatball on top and ladle over some hot tomato sauce, to cover and melt into the yoghurt.

Top with the onion slices and a generous sprinkling of paprika before serving.

The Real Greek, published by Blink Publishing, £20.​ The Real Greek restaurant will open in Bournemouth early spring, followed by Reading and Dulwich before the end of 2017