Lamb Meatballs & Creamy Risoni

Yummy dinner idea, from Swedish dairy giant Arla's new summer cookbook. The original idea was to make oblong meatballs, fry them, and then thread on skewers and heat on the grill, but I'm certainly not heating up the grill just to re-heat a little meat. Seems wasteful to me. So, we did small meatballs instead and then placed them on skewers.

Completely optional, of course. I thought it would entice our kids but.. well. Not so sure that worked. Dante ate five before we served the pasta, but after that, he wouldn't touch them. Titus had a tiny bite and declared that he didn't like them. Oh well. I loved them!

Lamb Meatballs
500 g lamb mince
1 red chili
zest from 1 lemon
 2 garlic cloves, minced
100 ml milk
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
butter to fry

Mix everything together, and shape small meatballs. Fry in butter until cooked through. Serve on skewers if you want to, or not - it's totally up to you.

 Creamy Risoni
1 onion, finely minced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tbsp butter
200 ml risoni (rice-shaped pasta)
1000 ml water
salt
1 tsp olive oil

Melt the butter, and gently fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the risoni, water and salt, and cook for ten minutes. Drain, and stir in the oil. Serve with the suggested toppings. (If you don't have picky kids, serve on a large platter. If you do though, I suggest having the toppings in separate bowls...)

Toppings:
crumbled feta cheese
finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
pomegranate seeds
cucumber
toasted pine nuts