Baked Lamb and Bacon Meatballs with Mānuka Smoke Infused Balsamic Drizzle Tomato Sugo
BROUGHT TO YOU BY Telegraph Hill
When flavour matters, it’s Telegraph Hill to the rescue. With Mānuka Smoke Infused Balsamic Drizzle you can elevate your next dish from good to sensational. When it comes to infusing taste into every mouthful, Telegraph Hill is renowned for making the difference. Just a few tablespoons in both the meatballs and the sauce is all it takes!
Serves: 2-3
INGREDIENTS
MEATBALLS
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk or cream
2 tablespoons Telegraph Hill Mānuka Smoke Infused Balsamic Drizzle
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons oregano leaves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and roughly crushed
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼–½ teaspoon chilli flakes, optional
400 grams lamb mince
80 grams streaky bacon, finely chopped
TOMATO SUGO
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
sea salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons Telegraph Hill Mānuka Smoke Infused Balsamic Drizzle
400ml tomato passata
1 cup canned cherry tomatoes, well drained
TO COOK AND SERVE
1 ball fresh mozzarella in whey, drained
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
6 small sprigs oregano, optional
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
SUGO: Heat the oil in a large pot, add the onion, garlic and bay leaves, season well with salt and pepper then cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft. Stir in the tomato paste and sugar and cook for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic drizzle, passata and cherry tomatoes and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
MEATBALLS: Whisk the egg, milk or cream and the balsamic drizzle together in a large bowl then stir in the all the remaining ingredients except the lamb and bacon. Leave for 10 minutes then add the lamb and bacon and combine well. Hands are good for this. Scoop out ¼ cup portions of the mixture and with lightly oiled hands, roll into meatballs. You should get about 8.
TO COOK: Transfer the simmered tomato sugo to a 4–5 cup-capacity baking dish and gently nestle in the raw meatballs, spooning a little sauce over each one. Top with ripped mozzarella and the parmesan then bake for about 30 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked.
TO SERVE: Heat a little oil in a small pot and fry the oregano leaves until crisp. Scatter over the meatballs to serve.
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In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.