North Town's Sicilian meatballs
We’re spoilt for choice with places to eat mega scran in Sheff, so it seems only natural for Meze Publishing to have brought out a third helping of The Sheffield Cook Book, aptly subtitled Back For Thirds. The new book is out now and can be found in indie stockists around the city and online.
To get you in the mood for food, we’re stoked to have the opportunity to share North Town Deli & Kitchen’s classic Sicilian meatball recipe – a lovely winter warmer for the meat fans out there. Planted firmly in Abbeydale Road and founded by Gian and Pasquale, North Town brings contemporary Italian-style cookery to the city. They said:
This is the recipe for our famous North Town lamb meatballs! We have made thousands and thousands of portions of these over the few years we have been open. Whether they are baked in our North Town sugo with melted taleggio or served on our crunchy ciabatta, they are always a winner!
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Start by soaking the raisins in hot water and set aside. Place the lamb mince in a bowl with the ground almonds, salt, pepper and chilli flakes.
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Drain the raisins, chop them roughly and add to the bowl. Finely chop the preserved lemon and add to the bowl. Pick the mint leaves, chop them up and add to the rest of the ingredients.
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Mix the contents of the bowl thoroughly with your hands so everything is combined evenly. Roll the mixture into 45g balls.
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Heat up a frying pan on a medium to high heat and add a good glug of olive oil. Place the meatballs in the frying pan, leaving a small space between them. Wait 4-5 minutes for them to colour nicely before using a pair of tongs to turn them all over. Cook on the other side until nicely coloured again, then stir and shake the pan to colour the edges (be careful as the meatballs will have released a fair bit of hot fat).
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Once coloured, give the meatballs a squeeze and if they are nice and springy, they will be ready. We serve them in our tomato sugo, baked in the oven with taleggio cheese, or why not put them in a crusty ciabatta with a bit of sugo and cheese!
