Greek lamb tray bake

Given our impending house move I really should be running the freezer down so I don't have to beg my friends to borrow a freezer drawer on the big day ! My freezer really is a mine of, well randomness. It's got the usual frozen chips, pizza, fish fingers and frozen peas & sweetcorn plus other veg. It's got an emergency loaf of bread and several packets of Waitrose fresh frozen herbs. All pretty normal stuff I think. Then comes the randomness. Lurking in the depths are 3 egg whites, some tomato innards - left over from salsa making, some breadcrumbs, a parmesan rind and something that looks possibly like red wine ? There are a couple of unidentified bags of something waiting for a "freezer surprise" tea, my poor kids a few weeks ago ended up with boeuf bourguinon with pasta because I could have sworn it was spag bol !!

So, I'm now trying to use up the odds and ends which also include the results of my obsessive buying of reduced meat. I have 3 packs of chicken mini fillets which cost £1.25 each, a pack of veal mince which was the princely sum of 95p and a pack of organic lamb mince which was reduced to £1.50. It was the lamb mince that got used tonight in this really tasty effort from the Good Food website although I had to tweak the portion sizes a little so that the Husband and the kids didn't think I was trying to starve them.

GREEK LAMB TRAY BAKE
serves 4

450g lamb mince
50g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 small white onion grated
1 clove garlic crushed
egg yolk
small bunch mint chopped
4 courgettes cut into batons
2 red onions cut into wedges
2 large baking potatoes cut into thickish chips
small punnet cherry tomatoes
olive oil to drizzle
100g feta crumbled

Heat the oven to 200C
To make the meatballs mix the first 5 ingredients and half the mint in a large bowl with some salt and pepper. Shape into about 16 patties and set aside
In a large roasting tin put the courgettes, potatoes and onions, drizzle with olive oil plus s&p and mix well.
Nestle in the lamb meatballs and put in the oven for 20 mins on a high shelf
Remove from oven and turn everything over. Add the tomatoes and put back in the oven for another 20 mins.
When cooking time is up, sprinkle over the feta and remaining mint.

I served this with toasted pittas and a large pot of tzatziki, utterly gorgeous even if I do say so myself !!

Lamb koftas & flatbreads

In the interests of getting son no1 to try new things and getting him helping out in the kitchen I thought I'd recycle an old favourite. We've not eaten these for ages and I thought it would be perfect for getting small hands involved in the cooking.

As it worked out son no 1 made the flatbreads with minimal input from me. He was as proud as punch !!

LAMB KOFTAS WITH FLAT BREADS

serves 4

For the flatbreads:

130g strong white flour
150g plain white flour (you can use 1/2 wholemeal if you'd prefer)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp nigella seeds
190ml warm water mixed with a slug of olive oil

For the koftas:

1 onion

1 red chilli (with or without seeds)

2 cloves of garlic

Small handful of coriander

tsp salt

zest of 1/2 a lemon

1-2tsp each of ground coriander and ground cumin - or to taste

500g lamb mince

Mix the flour, salt and nigella seeds in a bowl and add the water to make a dough. Knead for a couple of minutes and separate into six before leaving to rest for 30mins.

While the flatbreads are resting put the all the ingredients for the kofta apart from the lamb mince in a processor and whizz to a paste. Add to the lamb mince in a large bowl and mix well. Shape into 8 sausage shapes and leave to rest for 15 mins in the fridge.

Heat a heavy based frying pan and add the kofta, cooking for about 15 minutes until brown and cooked through.

Meanwhile roll out the flatbreads and fry for a couple of minutes each side in a hot frying pan

I served these with homemade tzatziki, a yoghurt and harissa dressing with red onion and a green salad. I also did a tomato and onion couscous to go with it too which I will post about separately

For the tzatziki :

1/2 a cucumber de-seeded and chopped

1 red chilli deseeded and chopped

150g natural yoghurt

1/2 tsp mint sauce

pinch sugar

Lamb meatball and pea pilaff

Son no2 is going through a picky phase. I'm trying to not rise to the bait and get stressed about it but remember that he is only 2 and as such it's his perogative. It is quite frustrating though as what is happily eaten one day is the food of the devil the next. So, I was quite surprised when he polished off a huge plateful of dinner tonight and then reached over and started eating what was left on my plate ! Shame Son no1 wasn't quite so enamoured.

This is a recipe taken from Good Food magazine which I've tweaked several times.

Lamb meatball & pea pilaf

Serves 4

For the meatballs

400g lean lamb mince

4 spring onions finely chopped

2 cloves garlic crushed

1tsp each ground cumin and ground coriander

1/2 tsp chilli powder

For the pilaf

1 onion chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

1tsp ground cumin

300g basmati rice

Vegetable stock

300g frozen peas

Juice and zest of a lemon

Handful chopped mint

Firstly to make the meatballs mix all the ingredients together with some seasoning. Shape into 16 balls and dry fry in a pan until brown all over and just cooked through.

Set aside and drain fat from pan.

Heat a dribble of olive oil in the pan and add the onion and garlic and soften. Then add the cumin and rice and cook for a few minutes.

Then add enough stock to cover, put a lid on the pan and cook until just tender.

Finally add the peas and meatballs back to the pan and heat through. Finish with the lemon, mint and seasoning to taste.

I served this with a green salad and a pot of tzatziki - from Waitrose, not home made ! It made enough for 2 adults and 2 kids for dinner plus I have lunch for tomorrow all wrapped up too.