Today’s recipe is the definition of a Sunday cook. This Mini Meatball Pizza features a homemade arrabbiata sauce, roasted red peppers, gooey mozzarella, and hand-rolled mini lamb meatballs on freshly baked homemade pizza crust. While it is true that this pizza takes far more effort than firing up a delivery app, it is well worth the patience it costs. From the aroma of a bubbling tomato sauce to the tactile experience of forming a series of petite meatballs, this ‘za is equal parts fun kitchen project and romantic date night meal. So let’s dive right in!
Vindaloo Braised Lamb Shanks with Spiced Yogurt Risotto
Looking to make something a little different this Easter? I’ve got a dish for you. These Vindaloo Braised Lamb Shanks feature lamb coated in a sauce inspired by the Goan classic slowed cooked for 3 hours until the meat is fall-apart tender. The lamb is served on a bed of creamy risotto studded with sweet peas and toasted cumin seeds and finished with a hefty dollop of Greek yogurt. Finally, the dish is garnished with julienned cucumber, mint, micro-greens, and thinly sliced red chiles. This meal is a nod to the traditional leg of lamb dinner and two Indian classics – vindaloo and raita. You can scale this meal up or down as your guest list demands and most of the actual cooking is blissfully hands-off. Sound good? Good. Let’s get into it.
Lamb Kofta Hoagies with Orange Fennel Potato Rolls
These Lamb Kofta Hoagies were supposed to be meatball subs. Yes, I know. It’s a long walk from there to here. But there are a host of good reasons why a plain old meatball sub didn’t make the cut. I’m sure the knee-jerk reaction is to assume, the meatball sub is not fancy enough for me. That’s not true. I have plenty of what I suppose you could call “low-brow” cravings and I indulge them frequently. Perhaps the meatball sub is too pedestrian and overdone? Well, that is sort of true. I don’t like to give people more of what they are currently swimming in. And there are meatball recipes abound. But I created the series Overthinking Classics as an outlet to play with my favorite dishes, which are actually super commonplace. So I don’t always consider being overly familiar a con.
Apricot Lamb Meatballs with Avgolemono Sauce
Here we are on the doorstep of Easter again. And once again, we’re all stuck on our own separate doorsteps. If you live in the States where vaccines flow freely that may no longer be the case. But here in Toronto, Canada our cases are going up and our actions are still heavily restricted. So another Easter weekend with my partner and two cats as my only dinner guests. So naturally glazed ham is off the menu. And as much as I love ham, I’m okay with that. I actually enjoy cooking intimate dinners more than big blow-out feasts. When cooking for small crowds, you can limit the number of dishes and focus on the execution of the food you do make. But having said that these Apricot Lamb Meatballs with Avgolemono Sauce aren’t overly detailed, so you can bank that spare fussing time for dessert.