Do you ever look at a recipe and think “That’s absolutely bonkers! Why on earth would you do that?” It happened to me with a recipe from the Daily News Cook Book for Jellied Lamb Rissoles. The idea behind the original was to crumb and fry some spicy lamb meatballs, then dip said fried meatballs in mint jelly and allow the jelly to set around the meatball. I think we can all agree that the recipe is very set in its time – ie when coating all sorts of things in aspic or jelly was the height of fashion.
HowEVER….the recipe asks you to go to the bother of crumbing and frying meatballs, which is one of my least favourite kitchen tasks. Admittedly, it is worth all the pfaffing about if you get a lovely crispy crumb coating on your meatballs. But then you have to dip that delightful crumb crust into a liquid jelly and let it sit in said liquid jelly until the jelly sets. Now, I could be totally wrong but to my mind, that would make the crumb crust into a soggy mess.
No thank you Daily News.
However once the idea of lamb rissoles with mint jelly takes hold, it is very hard to dislodge the idea. Plus the idea of rissoles reminded me of one of my favourite scenes from The Castle:
If you have not seen this film, you really need to. It is such a delight. Make these rissoles, grab a cold beer and watch The Castle immediately!
So, for anyone who wants to try out the original recipe here it is. Please let me know how it does turn out. I am very happy to be proved wrong if anyone is willing to take the risk of a soggy crust on my behalf!
The Revamped Lamb Rissole with Mint Jelly
A little note here. You can go a little wild with the chilli in these as the mint jelly will provide some cooling relief…see, I am willing to take a few risks after all!! If you cannot get hold of lamb, beef or pork would work here although lamb and mint is a delightful classic combo!
PrintLamb Rissoles with Mint Jelly
A SriLankan-inspired appetiser adapted from the classic “Daily News Cookery Book”. The kick of heat in the rissoles will be offset by the calming cool of the mint jelly so feel free to increase the amount of chilli you would normally use.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 25 1x
Ingredients
For the Rissoles:
500g minced lamb
I onion finely chopped
1–2 green chilli, finely chopped (depending on the heat of the chillies and your tolerance)
1 tsp mixed spice
2 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 beaten egg
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
For the Crumb:
Breadcrumbs – around 1 cup
1 beaten egg
Oil for frying – traditionally this would have been fried in dripping but I prefer to use canola oil.
To Serve
Mint Jelly
Coriander leaves (optional)
Chilli slices (optional
Instructions
Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together and shape into 25 meatballs.
Place the beaten egg into a bowl and the breadcrumbs on a plate.
Dip the meatballs in the egg then roll in the crumbs.
Place in the fridge to set for around 30 minutes.
Heat the oil. I used a wok but any deep sided pan or a deep fryer would work. Fry the meatballs in batches until golden brown (around 5-7 minutes).
Check a meatball to ensure it is cooked through. If not, you can pop them into the oven for around 5-10 minutes at 180C until they are.
Serve while still hot with a scattering of coriander and chill if liked and some mint jelly as a colling dip on the side.
Enjoy!
On a personal note, I have not posted for a while – I went on a little holiday, then had a sick dog, then I got sick so it’s been a busy few weeks! Hopefully I am back on track now though and looking forward to getting back into the groove of blogging.
OH, and I just realised today this blog turns 8 years old!
Well, I am off to celebrate, have a wonderful week!
