Amazeballs - Spicy Meatballs

Now that the new year has just started it's quite common for everyone to start thinking they need to eat more lightly and healthy. I was really looking forward to eating just salads and veggies after all the heavy eating during the holidays....however the fridge was still full of all kinds of ingredients shouting out to me....cheese, bacon, cream, ground beef....luckily all the sausages were already consumed. However, when I looked closer and tried to look past what could've become a bolognese or tacos....I also saw lots of leftover veg and ingredients for a salad. All I needed to buy was mint and yoghurt.
Amazeballs!! I had all the ingredients now to make spicy meatballs with a refreshing herb and fennel salad with pickled beetroot and a minty yoghurt dip. These turned out great and didn't feel too unhealthy but still fully satisfying.

Meatballs:
400g ground beef
1/2 onion (50g)
1 garlic clove (5g)
1/2 chili
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp beef fond (intense stock)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ras el hanout
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
salt and pepper

Sautee the onion and garlic and mix together all the ingredients. Shape into meatballs. Heat up a pan and fry them and Finnish them off in an oven. I had mine in 175°C for 8 mins and they turned out really juicy.

Sallad:
40g crispy salad leaves
20g mache salad
10g coriander
20g fennel
15g spring onions

Wash and tear the salad leaves. Slice the fennel really thin with a mandolin. tear in the coriander and chop the spring onions and mix. Top with pickled beetroot.

Pickled beetroot:
Slice half a beetroot really thin....I used the striped one that looks like a candy cane or lolly...I only now learned that it's called Chioggia beet ( pronounced kee-OH-gee-uh).
Make a mix of water, sugar and vinegar...I used approximately 1 part each. Add the beetroots to the mixture until they are pickled and sweet. Some of the liquid can be used in the salad.

Yoghurt and mint sauce:
Mix approximately 2 dl of yoghurt with a handful of chopped mint and a pinch of salt.

Dukkah:
I also Roasted some nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts and pecans) that I then put in a blender...perfect to sprinkle on top to add a bit of crunch. I also made a bit extra that I mixed with cardamom to sprinkle onto my breakfast yoghurt.

I hope You enjoy! I definitely did :)