Lamb meatball & pea pilaf

Lamb meatball & pea pilaf

Meatballs aren't just for pasta dishes. Experiment with this tasty pilaf - a winner for any meatball fan

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 20 mins

Freezable

Low-fat

Raw or cooked meatballs only

Method

  1. Mix the lamb with half the garlic and 1 tsp of the cumin, then season and shape into about 16 balls - it's easier if you wet your hands. Heat a large frying pan (with a lid for later), then fry the meatballs for about 8 mins until golden and cooked through. Remove from the pan, set aside, then tip in the rice, final tsp of cumin and remaining garlic. Fry for 30 secs, stirring, then pour in enough stock to cover. Cover and simmer for 10 mins or until almost all of the liquid is absorbed.
  2. Stir in the peas, return the meatballs to the pan, then warm through for a few mins until the peas are tender. Meanwhile mix the cucumber, yogurt and half the mint together, then season. To finish the pilaf, stir in the lemon zest and juice with some seasoning and the remaining mint. Serve with a good dollop of the cooling cucumber yogurt.
Try

Tip

For an even healthier version, substitute the lamb for turkey mince - it's a good source of protein and low in saturated fat.

Per serving

496 kcalories, protein 33.0g, carbohydrate 72.0g, fat 10.0 g, saturated fat 4.0g, fibre 4.0g, sugar 5.0g, salt 1.34 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, July 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • 27 June 2008

    Tim Evans rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Don't use the full half cucumber. Use a quarter or it's too much. I also used dried mint, not nearly as good. Thought I'd get away with it. Still a lush recipe though.

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  • 02 July 2008

    gemcheat rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great recipe my family loved it!!!

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  • 02 July 2008

    lisamary rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Thought this was delicious, watch your rice though you do need to make sure it's well covered by the stock. Definitely making it again, ever so simple and fab results.

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  • 02 July 2008

    jayne rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Delighted with this recipe - The children enjoyed as much as the adults. Really simple to make.

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  • Binder photo Rog

    07 July 2008

    Rog rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    A very tasty dish that was easy to make.

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  • 08 July 2008

    zaina rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    It was different to my usual rice pilaf that I cook. Very light compared to our spicy Asian dishes so I added crushed chillies, some paprika, one chopped onion and one egg to the mince(I used chicken mince instead and went well). I enjoyed it

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  • 09 July 2008

    Frantic Flapjack rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    This made a good mid-week supper. Very quick and tasty.

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  • 13 July 2008

    Laura rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • 23 July 2008

    graden rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    A superb meal and so easy,used peas and sweetcorn - it just gave it a little lift.

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  • 01 August 2008

    Karina D. rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Again good proof that a busy job isn't an excuse to eat take-away! This was ready in seconds and very tasty! (I added some sugar snaps for extra crunch and vitamines)

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  • 13 August 2008

    SarahC rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was really delicious! I added onion to the meatballs and rice. One thing though, keep an eye on the rice, I had to keep adding little bits of water, because it was sticking. I will definately make it again.

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  • 16 August 2008

    Beth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very popular with my other half - tasted fantastic. Def make again recipe.

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  • Binder photo Nic

    10 January 2009

    Nic rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delcioso! This was lovely, not too much effort although it took my boyfriend a bit longer than the alloted time..But worth it!

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  • 14 January 2009

    BEAKR commented on this recipe

    In process of cooking and tried brown rice and it just aint soakin gup the stock as well as Basmati would I guess.

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  • 27 May 2009

    Germaine commented on this recipe

    added some harissa in the lamb mince to give the meatballs a bit of spice. what a treat! really easy dish.

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  • 10 June 2009

    nhoneymonster rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • 06 August 2009

    Badders rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    This dish was far too lemony (and I only included 1/2 the lemon rind scecified in recipe)! It is a real shame as I feel this dish would have benefited from just juice and no rind. On the plus side, the cooling cucumber yogurt was actually very nice - and this is coming from someone who doesn't generally go for yoghurt dips. I did follow the above advice (from Tim Evans) to halve the quantity of cucumber.

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  • 06 November 2009

    Liezel rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    Not impressive at all. I have on a bit of a pilaf bender, testing all of the recipes on the site and this one was rather dull. I like rice and meatballs, but this match was not made in heaven

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  • 19 January 2010

    Emma rated this recipe

    3 stars

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  • 29 March 2010

    Huxley rated this recipe

    4 stars

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 20 mins

Freezable

Low-fat

Raw or cooked meatballs only

Ingredients

  • 400g pack lean minced lamb
  • 3 garlic cloves , crushed
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 300g basmati rice
  • enough lamb or vegetable stock to cover the rice, from a cube is fine
  • 300g frozen peas
  • zest 2 lemon , juice of 1

FOR THE CUCUMBER YOGURT

  • 1⁄2 cucumber , finely chopped or grated
  • 150ml pot mild natural yogurt
  • small bunch mint , leaves torn
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Per serving

496 kcalories, protein 33.0g, carbohydrate 72.0g, fat 10.0 g, saturated fat 4.0g, fibre 4.0g, sugar 5.0g, salt 1.34 g

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