Ground Lamb Meatballs with Pine Nuts and Tahini Sauce
Love the pine nuts in this, give it a great taste. Modified from Food and Wine, May 2012 – https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/ground-lamb-kebabs-with-pine-nuts-and-tahini-sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground lamb
- 3/4 cup pine nuts 4 ounces
- 1/4 cup finely chopped mint
- 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 medium onion finely chopped (1/2 cup)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil for brushing
- Tahini sauce
- lemon wedges
- pitas
Tahini Sauce
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ garlic clove minced
- ½ tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ½ tablespoon finely chopped mint
- Kosher salt
Instructions
Make the tahini sauce
- In a food processor, combine the tahini with the lemon juice and garlic. Add ⅓ cup of water and puree until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and whisk in up to ¼ cup more of water, until the sauce is pourable. Stir in the chopped parsley and mint, season with salt and serve.
Make the ground lamb meatballs
- In a bowl, mix the lamb with the pine nuts, mint, parsley, cumin, cinnamon, garlic, onion, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Form the mixture 16 meatballs
- Brush the lamb meatballs with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook in grill pan over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until the meatballs are lightly charred in spots and just slightly pink in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with tahini sauce, lemon wedges, and warm pita.
Make ahead
- The tahini sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Suggested pairing
- The fresh mint, pine nuts and spice in these meatballs make them a good match for a full-bodied white wine, rather than red. Juicy, citrusy Chenin Blanc from South Africa is a good choice.
Notes
This recipe was originally for kebabs cooked on a grill. I modified to just make meatballs and use half the tahini sauce.
