By Bonnie S. Benwick
The flavours in this dish might bring to mind the Mediterranean: Swipe a tender meatball through the lemony, herby hummus on the plate. Savour the bits of melted cheese and sweet pepper in the meat. Tear a piece of pita to wrap around each bite. Sip a glass of wine; close your eyes and imagine warm sun and a breeze on your face. Not bad for a weeknight, all in all.
LAMB ALBONDIGAS WITH HUMMUS
2 or 3 servings
Jarred, roasted piquillo peppers are available in Mediterranean markets.
Serve with grape tomatoes and warm pita bread or lavash.
Adapted from a recipe at Australian-Lamb.com, from executive chef Josh Elliott at L’Echon Brasserie in Miami.
1-ounce piece Manchego cheese
2 or 3 jarred roasted piquillo peppers (may substitute other roasted sweet peppers; see headnote)
Leaves from 1 stem rosemary
Leaves from 1 full stem thyme (with a few branches)
Leaves from 2 stems flat-leaf parsley
1 pound ground lamb
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more as needed
6 to 8 ounces homemade or store-bought plain hummus (see recipe at washingtonpost.com/food)
Leaves from 1 stem mint
Leaves from 2 stems cilantro
1 lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use the large-holed side of a box grater to shred the cheese. Drain the peppers, then cut them into small dice to yield at least 1/4 cup. Finely chop the rosemary, thyme and parsley; piling them together is okay.
Combine the ground lamb, heavy cream, grated cheese, chopped piquillo peppers, the herbs, salt and black pepper in a mixing bowl. Use your clean hands to combine well, then form the mixture into 10 meatballs of equal size, placing them on the baking sheet as you work. Bake for about 15 minutes, until they are lightly browned and cooked through, and you can see bits of melted cheese on the outside of the albondigas.
While they are in the oven, place the hummus (the amount depends on the number of servings) in a bowl. Finely chop the mint and cilantro; add them to the bowl. Use a Microplane grater to zest the lemon over the bowl; cut the lemon in half and squeeze a tablespoon of juice over the bowl. Stir just to combine; taste, and add salt and/or pepper as needed.
Spoon enough hummus on each plate to create a kind of landing base for the albondigas, then arrange them on each portion. Drizzle the food on each plate with a little oil. Serve warm.
Nutrition per serving (based on 3): 590 calories, 30 g protein, 12 g carbohydrates, 45 g fat, 20 g saturated fat, 130 mg cholesterol, 750 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fibre, 0 g sugar
