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Campanelle with Mini Lamb Meatballs, Greens, and Gravy


campanelle with mini lamb meatballs, greens, and gravy. photograph by Evi Abeler

Campanelle with Mini Lamb Meatballs, Greens, and Gravy

Leigh Belanger and Rebecca Haley-Park
This riff on Swedish meatballs swaps in spiced lamb for the traditional beef, gravy-catching campanelle for the egg noodles, and heat-tolerant crème fraîche for the sour cream.
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

Ingredients

    MEATBALLS

    • 1 egg
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 6 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
    • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
    • ½ pound ground lamb
    • ¼ cup beef stock
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil

    PASTA

    • 10 ounces campanelle
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 2 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • 2 cups beef stock
    • 6 tablespoons crème fraîche
    • Sea salt to taste
    • Ground black pepper to taste

    TO SERVE

    • 4 cups baby greens
    • ½ cup golden raisins soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and drained
    • Crumbled feta to garnish
    • 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

    Instructions
     

    Instructions

      MEATBALLS

      • In a large bowl, beat egg lightly. Add garlic, breadcrumbs, spices, and lamb, and mix thoroughly by hand. Add stock, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture is very moist but still holds together when rolled into a ball. You may not need all the stock. Form mixture into tablespoon-size balls. You will have 15 to 20 meatballs.
      • Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs and cook until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

      PASTA

      • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook campanelle to al dente according to package directions. Meanwhile, add butter to the meatball skillet and melt over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, about 1 minute, or until the flour-butter mixture (called a roux) is light brown. Whisk in beef stock and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper. Add meatballs and cook until heated through and gravy has thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.

      TO SERVE

      • Add greens to a colander and drain pasta over greens. Add pasta and greens to the skillet with the meatballs and stir to combine. Divide among 4 bowls and garnish with golden raisins, feta, and parsley.

      Rebecca Haley-Park

      Rebecca Haley-Park is culture's former editor and resident stinky cheese cheerleader. A native New Englander, she holds a BFA in creative writing from University of Maine at Farmington.

      Photographer Evi Abeler

      Evi Abeler is a food and still life photographer based in New York City. She helps art directors, cookbook authors and designers to communicate the love, passion and thought that goes into every project and creates modern, yet classic images. Her clients in advertising, publishing, hospitality and retail include Food & Wine Magazine (which named her Digital Food Award Winner), Harper Collins Publishing and Whole Foods Markets.

      Leigh Belanger

      Leigh Belanger is culture's former food editor. She's been a food writer, editor, and project manager for over a decade— serving as program director for Chefs Collaborative and contributing to local newspapers and magazines. Her first book, The Boston Homegrown Cookbook, was published in 2012. She lives and cooks in Boston with her family.

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