Moroccan Lamb Meatballs with Couscous Salad & Beetroot Relish

Whilst at the Taste of Sorrento festival on the weekend, I tasted and bought this beautiful beetroot relish from Green Olive (located in Red Hill). I don't know about you, but beetroot relish to me just makes me think of lamb. It is the perfect partner to something nice and meaty!

So, this week I decided to use my new jar of relish and whipped up some Moroccan Lamb meatballs. I served it with a recipe very similar to my Vegetable and Corn Couscous from the Gluten Free challenge last week. Staying true to my 'you can chuck any vegie you have in it', tonight I used squash, carrot, green capsicum, eggplant and tomato. Because of the spices already in the meatballs (recipe below) I changed the recipe a bit so have included the altered version below.

For the meatballs (serves 2 with leftovers)

500 grams lamb mince

1 egg

1/2 a cup of multigrain bread-crumbs

1/2 white onion chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon of ground coriander

Pinch chilli powder

Salt & pepper, to taste

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. In a bowl, combine all ingredients using a wooden spoon. When combined, using your hands, shape meatballs into golf-ball sized balls. Heat a little olive oil in a fry-pan brown the meatballs off evenly.

Transfer to an oiled tray and bake in the oven for another 10 minutes. Meatballs should still be slightly pink in the middle.

For the cous-cous salad:
Corn cous-cous (gluten free) prepared as per packet instructions
2 cups of chopped mixed vegies (I used eggplant, green capsicum, squash, carrot, tomato)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
Olive oil
Handful of fresh mint, chopped
Juice of one lemon
2 cups of mixed lettuce leaves

In a saucepan, heat a little olive oil and add crushed garlic. Saute for one minute, then add vegetables. Gently fry, stirring every minute or so, for five minutes or until soft. Add prepared cous-cous, mint and lemon juice. Combine. Place lettuce leaves in a large bowl. Add cous-cous, and toss gently until cous-cous is somewhat combined with lettuce.

Arrange in bowls (I put majority lettuce on bottom then cous-cous over it) and arrange meatballs on top. Place a few teaspoons of store bought beetroot relish on top of meatballs (I used the Green Olive one from Red Hill) and serve!

Enjoy! x