The following recipe is Greek-derived but since there's a lemon tree in every Australian back yard - at least there used to be - this is as Australian as the other Australian back yard icon - the Hills Hoist (also rapidly disappearing).
Grilled lemon meatballs.
Put 750 grams of mixed veal and pork mince into a large mixing bowl.
Use your hands to mix through an egg, 100 grams of grated parmesan cheese, three chopped garlic cloves, half a chopped red onion and three tablespoons of chopped parsley.
To the meat mixture, add the juice and the grated zest of one large lemon. Add salt and pepper and divide the mixture into golf-ball size orbs. Flatten them slightly and grill until done to your liking. Or you can do it Greek-style by putting them between two lemon leaves (the idea being to stop them charring prematurely over an open fire as well as to add more lemon flavour via the oil in the leaves).
This is a good alternative to the usual patties, the lemon adding a refreshing acid note to balance the fattiness of the meat. Ladies, bring out the chilled sauvignon blanc. I'll stick with very cold beer for this.
Serve with a traditional salad of lettuce, ripe tomatoes, onion rings and halved boiled eggs with mayonnaise dotted on the yolks, the whole thing sprinkled with plenty of shredded parsley. Or a hot side dish of shredded silver beet cooked with olive oil and garlic and scattered with walnuts fried until a deeper shade of golden brown.
*
I read a recipe for an Australia Day barbecue in the paper the other day. It suggested that you " ... grill a piece of meat for ten minutes each side and then rest in a warm place." Australia Day barbecuing is obviously hard work.
Grilled lemon meatballs.
Put 750 grams of mixed veal and pork mince into a large mixing bowl.
Use your hands to mix through an egg, 100 grams of grated parmesan cheese, three chopped garlic cloves, half a chopped red onion and three tablespoons of chopped parsley.
To the meat mixture, add the juice and the grated zest of one large lemon. Add salt and pepper and divide the mixture into golf-ball size orbs. Flatten them slightly and grill until done to your liking. Or you can do it Greek-style by putting them between two lemon leaves (the idea being to stop them charring prematurely over an open fire as well as to add more lemon flavour via the oil in the leaves).
This is a good alternative to the usual patties, the lemon adding a refreshing acid note to balance the fattiness of the meat. Ladies, bring out the chilled sauvignon blanc. I'll stick with very cold beer for this.
Serve with a traditional salad of lettuce, ripe tomatoes, onion rings and halved boiled eggs with mayonnaise dotted on the yolks, the whole thing sprinkled with plenty of shredded parsley. Or a hot side dish of shredded silver beet cooked with olive oil and garlic and scattered with walnuts fried until a deeper shade of golden brown.
*
I read a recipe for an Australia Day barbecue in the paper the other day. It suggested that you " ... grill a piece of meat for ten minutes each side and then rest in a warm place." Australia Day barbecuing is obviously hard work.
Yum. I'm doing this one!
ReplyDeleteThese sound delicious. Happy Australia Day!
ReplyDelete