Delicious Homemade Lamb Meatballs 
As Autumn starts to draw near we instinctively feel the urge to huddle closer to the open fire and eat more heartwarming, comforting foods. These lamb meatballs are tasty and filling and just the thing for any occasion, whether it's feeding the family or having a romantic meal for two.

Meatballs
500g lamb mince
135g breadcrumbs
50g butter
1-2 eggs (just put 1 in first and see if you need another one if the mixture is too dry)
1 medium-sized onion
1-2 cloves garlic
1 dessertspoon Worcester Sauce
Pinch of salt
Pinch of thyme

Sauce
1 tsp oil
1 medium-sized onion - chopped finely
1-2 cloves garlic - crushed or chopped finely
Pinch of thyme
1 carrot - chopped finely
half a celery stick- 3 tablespoons Redcurrant Jelly
1 tblsp flour or 3 tblsps Gravy Mix
1 litre water or stock
Pinch of salt - to taste
Pinch of pepper - to taste

Heat the oven to gas mark 6 or Electric 200 deg C.

• To make the meatballs, combine all those ingredients together in a large bowl until they are evenly distributed. Our chefs do this in a food processor but it can be quite satisfying to feel the mix squelching between your fingers!
• Form dollops of the mixture into balls. This will make 15-20 meatballs at golfball size, or 20-30 meatballs if you make them smaller. 
• Pop the meatballs on a baking tray, spacing them evenly and bung them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.
• To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onions, celery, carrot and garlic. Sweat these for around 10 minutes until the onion is sweetly translucent.
• Add the redcurrant jelly and let it melt into the vegetables, stirring all the while.
• A failsafe shortcut is to use gravy mix to thicken and flavour this sauce, but you can use flour and stock if you want:
  failsafe: sprinkle the vegetables with the gravy mix and add the water.
  traditional way: make the flour into a paste by adding a little water and mixing thoroughly. Add the stock and then mix the paste into the sauce.
• Bring the sauce to the boil and then turn it down and allow to simmer for a while. The sauce should begin to take on the consistency of gravy.
• Take the meatballs out of the oven and carefully place them into the sauce one at a time. 
• Simmer these on the hob for around another half hour, until the meatballs are soft and succulent and the sauce has all those lovely meaty flavours circulating. 
• Serve either with rice and a nice fresh green salad or more traditionally with pasta and some garlic bread to help mop up the juices afterwards.

Tips

• The meatballs can also be fried on all sides in a hot pan before being placed into the sauce, but this is not as easy as just putting them in the oven as you need to do this in batches.
• Try other herby flavours using mint or rosemary to give your lamb meatballs a classic flavour. Always remember: less is more!