The Beat That My Heart Skipped – A blog dedicated to daily design inspirations. By Rohini Wahi.

A couple of weeks ago Rosie and Ellie, the girls at Salad Club, emailed me their wonderful recipe for carrot and ginger muffins, but being the generous girls that they are, they also gave me an extra fabulous recipe for meatballs with an accompanying Bulgar, Carrot and Halloumi salad to boot!

I’m sharing this recipe with you today as I really do think it would be the perfect meal to knock up over this weekend. With the cold wet weather that is still keeping us all in winter mode, the meatballs will be the ultimate comfort food, whilst the salad with its full-on flavours will give a welcome whisper of the warmer climate that I hope is just around the corner. So I’ll leave you in the capable hands of The Salad Club Girls…

Meatballs most Tender from The Salad Club Girls

These are adapted from the Leon Cookbook and have totally dissolved my fear of making a meatball that bounces under my knife and between my teeth. There’s nothing more off putting than that. It sounds absolutely weird, and I did worry the first time I made these, but adding the milk-soaked pitta really does soften them up. They were lapped up in minutes by the boys at my table and now I can’t stop making them.

Serves 6
Ingredients

800g minced lamb
800g tinned chopped tomatoes
bunch of mint
bunch of coriander
bunch of basil
5 or 6 garlic cloves, finely cut
Spoonful of dried oregano
2 large spoonfuls harissa paste
half a glass of red wine
1 and a half pitta or flatbreads
Small glass of milk
Olive oil

For the Meatballs…
[1] Break the pitta into small pieces and soak for 10 minutes in the bowl of milk.  In a separate large bowl, combine the mince, oregano, half the cut garlic, a small handful of finely cut mint and coriander and a grind of salt and pepper.

[2] Once the pitta is soaked through, wring out the milk and break up further into the mince mix, combining well. Roll the mince into golf-sized balls and place either under a hot grill or on a very hot griddle for about 4 minutes, turning 3 times throughout to brown evenly on the outside. You’re not cooking them, just browning.

[3] In a large soup-making pan, heat a good glug of olive oil on medium and add the other half of the garlic. Turn the heat to low and stir for a couple of minutes to release the flavour and to prevent it catching.

[4] Add the chopped tomatoes, your glug of red wine and 2 generous spoonfuls of harissa. Cut red chillies, olives or red peppers would make a good addition here as well if you want to mix things up, but the joy of this dish is really in its simplicity.

[5] Turn the heat to low and simmer uncovered until the sauce has reduced, roughly 20 minutes. Then add the meatballs to the sauce, carefully coating them as they go in. Cover and simmer for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in a handful of torn basil leaves.

Serve with Bulgar, Carrot and Halloumi salad  with hummous and pitta breads. Would also go well on spaghetti if you’re looking for that Lady and the Tramp moment. Amazing.

For the Bulgar, Carrot and Halloumi Salad…

50g bulgar wheat
2 carrots
2 spring onions
tsp vegetable stock
Handful of raisins or sultanas
Juice of half a lemon
Olive oil
Handful parsley
Handful mint
4 slices of halloumi
Salt & pepper

[1] Put the bulgar wheat and raisins/sultanas in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Add the vegetable stock, cover with a plate and set aside.

[2] Grate the carrots into a large bowl, slice the spring onions and throw them in too.

[3] Get a griddle pan hot and dry fry the halloumi until ridged brown on both sides.

[4] Fork up the bulgar and raisins/sultanas and add them to the big bowl with the carrots and spring onions. Dress with the lemon juice, a good glug of olive oil, some roughly chopped mint and parsley and season to taste. Stir everything together gently with a fork so it all stays light and fluffy, then top with the warm halloumi and serve as a lovely vegetarian main dish or a perfect accompaniment to Ellie’s meatballs!