Lamb Meatball Stew With Quinoa, Baby Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas And Herbs

“This is the ultimate cold-weather meal. Herb-scented broth packed with vegetables, meatballs and quinoa will warm you up with loads of fibre, protein and antioxidants. This makes enough to feed a crowd or to keep you ready for a week or more of comforting stew meals.” – Chef Seamus Mullen

Lamb Meatball Stew With Quinoa, Baby Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas And Herbs

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 carrots, diced
4 cipollini onions, peeled
75 gr (1 cup) king oyster mushrooms, cut into 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces
1 fennel bulb, cut into 2.5 cm (1-inch) wedges
2 garlic cloves, sliced
240 ml (1 cup) dry white wine
1.5 litre (6 cups) unsalted chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
1 rosemary sprig
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
185 grams (1 cup) red quinoa, rinsed under cold running water and drained
1 recipe Spiced Almond Lamb Meatballs (see below)
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
100 gr (2 cups) sugar snap peas, halved
40 gr (1 cup) of 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces radicchio
Fresh dill, cilantro, basil, fennel fronds and mint leaves, chopped

Method:

1. In a large Dutch oven or saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onions, mushrooms and fennel and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until the alcohol burns off. Add the stock, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Add the quinoa and simmer until it’s just tender, about 15 minutes.

2. Add the meatballs, jalapeño, sugar snap peas and radicchio. Simmer until the vegetables are just barely tender but still vibrant, about 3 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves.

3. Divide the soup among six to eight serving bowls and finish each bowl with a healthy drizzle of oil and a generous sprinkling of herbs. Serve immediately.

Spiced Almond Lamb Meatballs

Ingredients:

250 ml (2 cups) whole milk
225 grams (1 cup) raw almonds
1150 gr (21⁄2 pounds) ground lamb (77% lean)
15 gr (1⁄2 cup) chopped fresh herbs, preferably a mix of mint, oregano, rosemary, parsley, and thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dry red wine
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Combine the milk and almonds in a small bowl and let soak for 30 minutes. Drain the almonds and pulse in a food processor or blender until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and add the lamb, herbs, garlic, wine, cayenne, coriander, cumin, fennel, eggs, salt and black pepper. Mix with your hands until everything is thoroughly and evenly incorporated. Dampen your hands and shape the mixture into 2.5 cm (1-inch) round meatballs.

2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Generously coat the bottom of the skillet with olive oil. When the oil is hot, add as many meatballs as you can without crowding the skillet, spacing them at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) apart.

3. Cook, turning often to evenly brown, until well seared, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Serve hot.

Want to know more about healthy eating, Seamus Mullen’s way? Read our Q&A with the top chef.

Reprinted with permission from Real Food Heals: Eat to Feel Younger and Stronger Every Day, Seamus Mullen, Avery 2017 [Photo: Colin Clark]

About Real Food Heals:

In the high-end food world, “healthy cooking” has long been taboo. But as one of the only high-profile chefs today guided by the understanding that the food we eat has a deep impact on our health, chef Seamus Mullen has rewritten the old rule that healthy can’t be delicious. Seamus’s powerful transformation came out of his own health crisis – after a near-death experience brought on by autoimmune disease he’d struggled with for years, he radically changed the way he cooked, both at his restaurants and at home.

Real Food Heals contains 125 Paleo-inspired recipes designed to revitalise your health every day.