Herby pork meatballs
Herbs, fresh and dried are absolutely packed full of goodness. Throughout human history herbs have been used as medicine to treat, heal and cure a myriad of symptoms. Herbal medicines are derived from multiple plant parts ie leaves, flowers & roots and each specific component of a plant can have differing effects and implications for our health. Specialised herbalists are qualified in extracting the specific chemical constituents into concentrated tinctures, which they can prescribe to be used alongside conventional medicine, in fact patients can now be referred to a herbalist by their GP for treatment within the NHS. Stretching to osteoporosis, HIV, dementia and dermatology, the power of plants and herbs is real and is supported by a growing body of scientific evidence. If you are interested in discovering more about herbal medicine please follow this link
So how can we make use of all this amazing plant power in our day to day lives? I developed this recipe to include as many herbs as I could (I managed to squeeze in 5). Flavourful pork meatballs, inspired by stuffed vine leaves, contain dill, mint, oregano and coriander. Free range pork mince is combined with onion, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, chilli and all the chopped herbs. Simply rolled into balls and browned in olive oil, they are ready in 20 minutes. To pack in even more herbs, I serve with a play on tabouleh and a minty spiked tzatziki.
You will need
400g free range pork mince
1 onion
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
A fistful of dill
A fistful of coriander
A fistful of mint
1 red chilli
1 tsp oregano
Lemon zest
For the tabouleh
150g cooked quinoa
Apple
Tomato
Spring onion
Lemon juice
Olive oil
1 packet parsley & 1/2 packet coriander
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 fan. Sweat 1 onion down with a little salt and oil until softened. Add chopped deseeded chillis and cook for 3 more minutes.
Tip the pork mince into a bowl and add chopped herbs, plenty of salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, lemon zest and onions. Mix well until everything is evenly distributed.
Heat a good glug of oil in a pan and brown off the meatballs in batches, don’t worry if they aren’t cooked through as they will finish in the oven.
Once all the meatballs are browned, place into a tray and into the oven for 10 minutes.
To make the tabouleh, mix chopped tomatoes, spring onion and apple with the quinoa. Chop lots of parsley and coriander and mix through. Season with loads of lemon juice and 2 tbsp good olive oil.
Remove the meatballs from the oven, serve on top of a bed of the tabouleh and drizzle over the tzatziki.