Spiced Goat Mince Meatballs in a Roast Tomato & Pepper Sauce

These meatballs were just a bit off the cuff on a Friday night faffing about in the kitchen; I had a packet of goat mince that needed cooking and made it up as I went along. They turned out to be an absolute triumph, and one that I can't wait to make again. I flavoured the meatballs with fennel and coriander seeds, roast them and tossed them in a roast tomato and red pepper sauce, it was so delicious! If you haven't had much goat in the past I would highly recommend it, not as strong as lamb or beef, just a really delicate beautiful flavour, try it out...

Start with the tomatoes, I used a packet of regular sized vine tomatoes. Cut them into quarters and pop them into a baking tray, add a generous splash of olive oil, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of sugar and some black pepper, give it a good mix and then pop it in the oven at 200˚C for 30 minutes, keep an eye on them as all tomatoes differ. You want it to start to colour and most of the water to cook away, until they start to look a bit sticky and caramelised. When they are ready tip them into a little blender and wizz them up until smooth, they almost become creamy. It's my new favourite way of making a tomato sauce, especially while tomatoes are in season I much prefer this roast fresh tomato method rather than using tins.

While you are waiting for the tomatoes you can start the meatballs. I used one slice of stale brown sourdough bread, crusts removed, wizzed up into a fine crumb. Put the bread crumbs into a bowl and added a splash of milk and leave them to soak.

Toast a teaspoon of coriander seeds and half a teaspoon of fennel seeds in a small pan until you can smell them, then pop them into a pestle and mortar and grind until you get a rough powder.

I used 400g of goat meat for 2 people, this was quite generous, and would feed 3 easily! I get my goat meat from The Goat Company who trade at Jesmond Food market, on the third Saturday of the month. Get a few packs and keep it in the freezer, it really is such delicious meat.

Crumble the mince into a big bowl and add the spices. Then add half a finely chopped onion, a grated clove of garlic, a big pinch of maldon sea salt, some black pepper and the bread crumbs; and mix it all together. Then form into balls and roll together in your hands, about the size of a golf ball.

Put them into a baking tray with some olive oil and a thinly sliced red pepper, coating everything in oil before putting them in the oven. Bake them for 25 minutes, but give them a shake after 10 minutes. They should take on a bit of colour but you don't want them to cook for too long and dry out.

While they were in the oven I cooked a sliced onion in a bit of oil and butter until golden, then added the blitzed tomato sauce into the pan to warm through. A lot of fat came out of my meatballs, which was great as they ended up so juicy, so instead of adding the sauce into the baking tray I scooped them out of the fat with the peppers and tossed them into the sauce in the pan.

Serve with some buttery polenta and some chopped fresh sage. They were SO good, really juicy delicious meatballs and the sauce was lovely and rich, perfect with buttery polenta and little bursts of sage.

Goat Mince Ragu

All through October chefs and restaurants all over the country were taking part in something called 'Goatober'. I've got to say, it's not the catchiest of titles, but you get the jist, goats and October being the important bits.

Goatober is the brainchild of Heritage Radio Network Executive Director, Erin Fairbanks, and renowned New York cheesemonger, Anne Saxelby. An annual campaign every year in October in the US. In 2010, Heritage Foods USA partnered with a dozen goat dairies around upstate New York and Vermont to purchase their unwanted males, who, as unable to produce milk for dairy products, are killed at birth. Over 50 New York City chefs agreed to feature goat on their menu for the full month of October including Gramercy Tavern, Babbo, Spotted Pig and Bar Boulud and the campaign’s success has continued to grow to year on year.

This year James Whetlor of Cabrito, a relatively new company bringing British goat into the mainstream food market, has been championing the event over here in the UK. I decided to get involved as I really do like goat and was keen to support James, and also my local goat suppliers The Goat Company based up in Morpeth.

This Goat Mince Ragu recipe has been on the menu at Cook House all month, I'm serving in on toast smothered in delicious Doddington cheese. It is also great served with pasta, in a lasagne or with some buttery polenta.

To start finely dice 1 onion, 1 carrot and 1 stick of celery, then add to a big pan with a pinch of salt, a bay leaf, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 15g butter and cook slowly until soft and turning golden, for about 15 minutes. 

While this is going on add 4 large tomatoes cut into quarters, or the equivalent amount of cherry tomatoes to a small baking tray with a couple of cloves of garlic, add a splash of olive oil, and a pinch each of salt, pepper and sugar. Then roast at 200˚C for about 20 minutes, until soft and starting to brown. Then remove from the oven.

Grate into the onion mix, one clove of garlic and a few sprigs of finely chopped thyme and stir through. Add 1kg of goat mince, this will serve 4 generously. Gently stir the goat mince on the heat until it is browned and breaks up evenly. Then add 2 heaped desert spoons of plain flour and stir through, allow this to cook for 5 minutes. Then add 2 heaped desert spoons of tomato puree and stir through and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the roast tomatoes to a blender and blitz until totally smooth and then stir this into the goat mince, post flour and tomato puree. Add a big pinch of salt, lots of ground black pepper and a teaspoon of sugar and stir to combine. It will begin to smell and taste delicious at this stage. You're looking to layer as much flavour into the pan as possible, the golden veg at the beginning and then these delicious roast tomatoes all help that along.

Then add about 600ml of beef stock and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce; preferably homemade stock made with roast beef bones simmered for a few hours with stock veg, which will yield the most delicious results. Then let the mince simmer for an hour, covered, very gently, so it's just moving. If it seems too thick add a little more stock. After an hour remove the lid and if it seems like there is a bit too much liquid, take the lid of and turn the heat up and let it reduce for about 15 minutes, stirring now and again so it doesn't stick to the bottom. Turn it off when it is the desired consistency, check the seasoning and let it sit for 15 minutes, just to let let it settle and for all the flavour to come out. It is even better the next day, so if you can make it ahead that is ideal...

To serve, pop it on toast with lots of grated cheese, or stir through some pasta, again top with cheese, or layer it up into a homemade lasagne, making sure to top with cheese!

BBQ Goat Chops

Having The Goat Company at Jesmond Food Market regularly means I've been able to get hold of goat meat much more easily; and hearing James Whetlot of Cabrito speak the other week about his endeavours to make it available more widely, has also encouraged me to try it out more. It's a really tasty yet subtle meat, which I would like to cook with more often. I tried out a goat ragu a couple of months ago; browned then slow cooked with onions, carrots and celery, some red wine and chopped tomatoes, served with polenta, it was simple and delicious, but not particularly photogenic. This time round I went for some chops...

I am without a kitchen at home at the moment and am really missing cooking for myself, friends and family. It has been knocked down to be rebuilt and will be wonderful once it is finished but washing up in the minuscule bathroom sink just isn't feasible so we're surviving on salad, Cook House leftovers and accepting every dinner invitation thrown our way! Subsequently a holiday in the Lake District, for a few days, with a working kitchen, bbq and smoker sent me into a bit of a frenzy... Menu planning, shopping lists, orders placed; this was not going to be time wasted! A little simple bbq to kick things of when we arrived was actually one of the highlights.

I began by marinating the goat chops in a mix of chopped rosemary, a clove of grated garlic, the juice of half a lemon, olive oil and salt and pepper. I thought simple was best, to appreciate the flavour of the meat and I like a BBQ that is a bit Greek in style; home made flat breads, choppy salads and dips... lots of things to pick at on the table, it's the best way and delicious.

Leaving the goat to sit for an hour or so, we lit the bbq... and I set about some simple side dishes. Some asparagus, spring onions and sliced courgettes, with just a bit of olive oil and salt are delicious on a bbq. More often than not people pile a ton of meat on, every type at once, with a token corn on the cob, but I like a vegetable on the bbq just as much as a chop!

BBQ pea pods were a good discovery over the weekend, just put fresh pea pods onto the bbq, turn until they are charred, then open them up and you have tasty steamed peas, sprinkle with a bit of salt. They can go on while the bbq is still too hot for everything else so are a good pre dinner snack, as they only take a couple of minutes...

I made some homemade flatbreads, which sounds like a lot of effort but is the opposite. 250g plain flour mixed with 150ml of warm water, a teaspoon of salt and a table spoon of olive oil, mix it into a dough and knead for 2 minutes then let it sit under a bowl until you need it. It will make 4 large flatbreads. Just divide it into 4 and flatten out into a thin disc when you need it and chuck on the bbq at the end, it will puff up and char a bit. The dough takes 2 minutes as does the rolling out and you will be rewarded ten fold by the delight of your own fresh bread!

I also made a sweet cumin yoghurt, a smoky aubergine yoghurt and a spicy tomato sauce; my favourite trio of dips, you can see how here...

Time to BBQ. Make sure you have left it calm down a bit, all the coals white but not volcanic, you don't want everything burnt to a crisp within a minute of being on the grill. We put the veg on first and a bit of sliced halloumi... lush... Then the goat chops, about 3 minutes on each side, I put a sprig of rosemary on at the same time as the chops which caught fire coating them in a lovely rosemary char... Then take it all off into a nice hot bowl and put the flatbreads on, roll them quite thin and they will only take a minute while everyone tucks into the rest of the offerings... It was a lovely evening.