Ground Meatballs with Olives and Sheep Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 old-fashioned roll
• 1 Garlic clove
• 2 red chili peppers
• 600 g lamb ground meat
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp sharp mustard
• 0.5 tsp freshly chopped rosemary
• 0.5 tsp lemon thyme
• Salt
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 2 shallots
• 70 g black, pitted olives
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 150 ml dry red wine
• 200 ml lamb stock
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 150 g feta cheese
• 2 tbsp chives sprigs

Instructions

1. 1.

   Soak the roll in lukewarm water.

2. 2.

   Peel and finely chop the garlic. Wash the chili peppers, halve one lengthwise, deseed and finely chop. Slice the remaining pepper into thin rings. Mix the ground meat with the chopped chili, garlic, egg, mustard and the well-squeezed roll, fold in rosemary and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Shape small meatballs from the mixture and brown them all sides in a hot pan with oil. Remove and set aside. Peel the shallots and dice finely. Sauté the olives in the drippings, stir in the tomato paste and deglaze with wine. Add the stock and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes. If desired, thicken with beurre manié (equal parts flour and butter kneaded together). Return the meatballs to the sauce and let them finish cooking.

3. 3.

   Distribute the sauce on plates and sprinkle with crumbled feta, chives sprigs and chili rings before serving.