Venison meatballs with pomegranate sauce
By Donna Ross
Serves 4
Prep: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
For the meatballs
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted in a dry frying pan
1 small/half a large onion, finely diced
6 cardamom pods (8 if you really like cardamom!), seeds crushed
0.5 cup of breadcrumbs soaked in 50ml milk
0.25 tsp chilli flakes
500g venison mince
0.5 tsp salt
For the pomegranate sauce
1 small/other half of the onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stick celery, finely diced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
To make the meatballs:
Fry the onion in a little oil and leave to cool.
When cooled, mix the rest of the meatball ingredients together in a bowl, getting in with your hands and making sure its all well combined. To make sure you've got the seasoning right, fry a little of the mixture in the pan you fried the onions and when cooked and slightly cooled, taste it. If it needs more seasoning, add it now (or a pinch more chilli if you like them a bit spicier). Leave the mixture to sit while you start the sauce.
To make the sauce:
Fry the onion, celery and garlic in a little oil over a low heat. When they've softened, add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep just under a simmer and for the sauce to cook and begin to reduce.
To finish the meatballs:
Form the mixture into walnut sized balls; the mixture should yield about 20 meatballs. Fry the meatballs until a dark brown crust forms on the outside. When browned, add the meatballs to the pomegranate sauce to finish cooking. They should take another 20 minutes or so, but will happily sit there over allow heat for longer if need be.