Lamb Meatballs with Baked Polenta and Tomato

My almost-two-year-old son has always loved lamb. I know, if this were olden times, like The Lord of The Ring Days, you'd be thinking, How Dareth You Speak Grandiloquently of Your Child's Plump Lamb Consuming Paunch!! (That's how they talked back then, and everything was capitalized, and The Lord of the Ring days are an actual period in history...)

But listen people, I buy one pound of ground lamb for $4.99 at my local market! It's delicious! I've made burgers before, but I wanted to try out a delicious meatball and that it was, my friends, that it was. Instead of serving it over pasta I attempted a baked polenta dish that was also quite lovely. Kid tested, mother approved.

Lamb Meatballs
(Makes 15)
Printable Recipe

1 lb. ground lamb
1 T olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup panko or bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 T vegetable oil

Heat olive oil over medium heat in medium sized skillet. Add shallots and garlic and saute for 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.


Turn heat up to high. Add balsamic vinegar and saute until it evaporates, a few minutes. Set aside and let cool.


In a large bowl, stir together panko, Romano, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, salt and pepper.


Add egg, shallot mixture and ground lamb and combine using hands. Form into 15 meatballs.


Heat vegetable oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs, and cook for roughly 6 minutes per side.



Baked Polenta and Tomato
(Serves 4)
Printable Recipe

1 (14oz.) can of diced tomatoes in garlic and olive oil
1 log of polenta (found this at Trader Joe's)
Grated Romano

Preheat oven to 425. Slice polenta into discs. Cover the bottom of a small casserole dish with some polenta slices.


Top first layer of polenta with some of the diced tomato.


Repeat this layering process until polenta is gone, ending with tomato. Grate Romano cheese on top to cover.


Bake for 25 minutes.