"While this isn’t a Turkish recipe, a lot of what I create is inspired by flavours and techniques used in Turkish, Persian and Middle Eastern cuisines. I prefer to make smallish meatballs for this recipe, but you can make them bigger if you like. These are lovely served with small pasta shapes, such as orzo, or rice or pillowy bread."

 M A K E S 3 5 – 4 0 MEATBALLS/

S E RV E S 4 – 6

 500g minced lamb

6 spring onions, thinly sliced from root to tip, 2 reserved for garnish

2 fat garlic cloves, minced

1 heaped teaspoon pul biber chilli flakes

1 heaped teaspoon paprika

1 heaped teaspoon dried mint

1 small packet (about 30g) of flat leaf

parsley, finely chopped, some reserved

for garnish

1 small packet (about 30g) of dill, finely

chopped, some reserved for garnish

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

vegetable oil, for frying

250g Greek yogurt

Maldon sea salt flakes and freshly

ground black pepper

For the butter

50g butter

1 teaspoon dried mint

1 teaspoon pul biber chilli flakes

Method

Put the minced lamb, spring onions, garlic, spices, dried mint, fresh herbs and bicarbonate of soda into

a mixing bowl and season very generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to work the ingredients

together really well until you have an evenly combined smooth paste, then roll the mixture into 35–40 balls.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Line a plate with a double layer of kitchen

paper. Once the pan is hot, add the meatballs and fry on one side for 3–4 minutes, then turn and fry on the

other side for 3–4 minutes before shaking the pan to finish frying the other sides.

Meanwhile, put the yogurt into a saucepan, season with salt and pepper and heat gently (to avoid curdling)

until hot, then remove from the heat.

Melt the butter with the dried mint and pul biber in a small saucepan.

Once the meatballs are cooked, transfer to the paper-lined plate to drain, then place them on a platter, pour

over the yogurt and drizzle with the butter. Scatter with the reserved spring onions and chopped herbs to serve.

Feeds 4 people

Ingredients:

500g beef chuck, diced

2 tbsn extra virgin olive oil

170g (2 carrots) carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

120g (2 sticks) celery, roughly chopped  

180g (1/2 onion) onion – peeled and roughly chopped

10g garlic, peeled

1 cup red wine

4g rosemary

6 thyme

1 bay leaf

1 tin tomatoes, chopped

500ml beef stock, good quality

10g sea salt

Few turns of freshly cracked black pepper

400g dry tagliatelle

4 tbsn grated parmesan

4 tbsn parsley chopped

Method:

• Pre heat the oven to 180deg C.
• Pour the olive oil into a heavy based cast iron pot. Once hot start frying the beef in batches, ensuring its brown and caramelised. Remove from the pot and keep to the side.
• Into a blender add the carrot, onion, celery and garlic, blend to a paste, this is called a sofrito. Pour that into the pot, start to fry until it starts to turn brown and all the liquid has evaporated.
• 
• Add back the beef and the red wine.
• Reduce the red wine until there is none left in the pan.
• Now add the beef stock, tomato and the herbs.
• 
• Add the seasoning, cover with a lid and place into an oven and cook for two hours.
• 
• Heat up a large pot of boiling water, add 2 tbsn sea salt.
• Put the pasta into the rapidly boiling water, stirring consistently to ensure the pasta doesn’t stick together
• Once cooked ,drain the pasta and pour into the cooked beef ragout, add the chopped parsley and fold the ragout and pasta together.
• With a pair of tongs evenly plate the pasta into four bowls
• To finish sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Feeds 3 people

Ingredients

3 whole lamb shanks

3 tbsn Berber spice

4 tbsn pomegranate molasses

500g chicken stock

400g water

200g brown onion sliced  

30g garlic whole cloves

50g celery, sliced  

60g fennel bulb, sliced

10g sea salt

20g honey

3 tbsn pomegranate seeds  

6 tbsn Greek yogurt

3 tbsn coriander chopped   

Method 

• Preheat oven to 1800deg C
• Take 1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses and pour over the lamb shanks, using your hands rub the molasses all over the lamb ensuring an even coating
• Take 1 tablespoon of the Berber spice and liberally sprinkle the spice over all sides of the lamb
• 
• Put a thick bottomed cast iron pot or casserole dish on a med high heat add the oil and start to colour all sides of the lamb
• Remove the lamb, and add the fennel, onion, garlic and fry until soft
• Add the lamb back to the pot with water and the rest of the pomegranate molasses, Berber spice and honey and place the lid on the pot and put into the oven for 2 hours
• 
• Once cooked, spoon the yogurt onto a plate, put the lamb shank on the yoghurt sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds and the chopped coriander