Lamb Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce

Preheat broiler. In a large bowl, mix together onion, cream, egg yolks, cinnamon, red pepper flakes and cayenne. Put lamb in the bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the breadcrumbs and parsley, and combine the mixture thoroughly. Shape the meat into balls which are approximately the size of golf balls.

Grease a rimmed baking pan with olive oil and place meatballs on the pan, making sure to space evenly. Put the baking pan beneath the broiler and cook, turning once or twice, until the meat is well browned (about 5-7 minutes). Set the meatballs aside and turn the oven to 400 F (200 C).

While the meatballs are in the broiler, make the sauce. Blend the tomatoes with an immersion blender or food processor. Set them aside.

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat for a minute. Add olive oil, rosemary leaves and red pepper and shake to combine. Cook for another minute, and then add onion, thyme, cinnamon, cayenne and bay leaf and saute until the onions are translucent (about 5-7 minutes). Add the processed tomatoes, sugar, orange juice and orange peel and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook for 8-10 minutes over medium-low heat until the sauce is reduced by one third. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Pour the sauce into a 3 quart baking dish. Place the meatballs in the sauce, spacing them 1/2 inches from each other. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the meatballs are cooked through.

Top with crumbled feta and sliced mint.

Recipe slightly adapted from Suzanne Goin’s The A.O.C. Cookbook.