Pork, juniper & pink peppercorn meatballs with leeks & puy lentils

These are some of the nicest meatballs I’ve ever had and it’s well worth looking at the spice section in the supermarket for the slightly more unusual juniper berries and pink peppercorns (they won’t go to waste, as you’ll definitely want to make these again). Use good-quality sausages, as the texture works really well here and you’ll need the added seasoning from them.

Source: The Quick Roasting Tin

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Tip the leeks and Puy lentils into a roasting tin with the olive oil and sea salt and mix well.
2. Grind the juniper and pink peppercorns to a rough powder, then add them to a bowl with the lemon zest and egg.
3. Squeeze the sausagemeat from the sausage casings into the bowl and mix well with your hands until everything is evenly incorporated. Take walnut-sized balls of the mixture (this is easier with wet hands) and form into meatballs, popping them into the roasting tin as you go. You should have about 18 meatballs by the end.
4. Transfer the tin to the oven and bake for
   25-30 minutes, until the meatballs are golden and crisp on top.
5. Whisk the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of sea salt together and dress the meatballs and lentils with it. Scatter with the parsley and a pinch more of the pink peppercorns if you like and serve hot.

Similar recipes

Bean & pasta meatball stew Meatball pasta bake Italian meatballs Spinach meatball curry