Spicy Lamb Meatballs, Grilled Halloumi, Lemon Quinoa and 'Fun' Salad

This was for an old friend who took me to the Coalshed in Brighton recently so I wanted it to be delicious because he spent a lot of money on me. He demanded lamb, which I have little experience with, so it was a challenge to make something impressive whilst keeping the cost down. This has a Greek influence - grilled halloumi and tzatziki (yoghurt with mint and lemon juice) are loved by most people and go naturally with lamb so all that was needed was to zhoosh up the meatballs to give them a wicked flavour, make the salad fun and swap the expected cous cous for quinoa.



Serves 2

250g lean lamb mince
one green chilli
quarter of a red onion - chopped small
3/4 block of halloumi SHAMELESSLY
bowl of quinoa
1 lemon
half a cucumber
some finely chopped red cabbage
a bag of rocket
1 carrot
1 slice of bread grated (whatever floats your boat: gluten-free, wholemeal, rye...)
1 egg
salt and pepper
cayenne powder
smoked paprika
cumin
ground coriander
2 garlic cloves
sesame seeds & oil (optional)

Make the meatballs by squashing the chilli, onion, egg and breadcrumbs into a big mixing bowl with the lamb mince and a good sprinkling of each of the spices and the minced garlic. Season then shape into balls and then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so they have some time to set a little.

Make the salad fun by spiralizing the cucumber and carrot - the strips are long and curly and then shredded some red cabbage and combined it with rocket and a little lemon zest. This adds colour, nutritional variety and a contrast of texture to the squeaky halloumi, fluffy quinoa and tender meatballs.
Cut the halloumi into similarly sized pieces to the meatballs and marinate in a little sesame oil and seeds if you have them. No worries if not. Then pre-heat a griddle pan to hot hot hot and place the meatballs and the halloumi on, fast as lightning so it all cooks together.When it's neaararly done it should look something like this, but you will need to turn the meatballs so that all sides are cooked and it's cooked throughout. No pink!