Name: Turkey and sweetcorn meatballs with roasted pepper sauce
Ingredients: 100g sweetcorn kernels (fresh or frozen); 3 slices of stale white bread, crusts removed; 500g minced free-range or organic turkey breast; 1 free-range egg; 4 spring onions, finely chopped; 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley; 2½ tsp ground cumin; 1½ tsp salt; ½ tsp black pepper; 1 garlic clove, crushed; sunflower oil for frying; 4 red peppers; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp salt; 25g coriander, leaves and stalks; 1 garlic clove, peeled; 1 small mild chilli, deseeded; 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce; 2 tbsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

Turkey and sweetcorn meatballs with roasted pepper sauce

Main Midweek

Serves 4

Featured in

Now you see them, now you don’t. That’s the fate of these meatballs in our Ledbury Road branch. As soon as we bring them out to the shop they disappear, as if by command of a magician’s wand. They are that good!

Ingredients

100g	sweetcorn kernels (fresh or frozen)
3	slices of stale white bread, crusts removed
500g	minced free-range or organic turkey breast
1	free-range egg
4	spring onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp	finely chopped parsley
2½ tsp	ground cumin
1½ tsp	salt
½ tsp	black pepper
1	garlic clove, crushed
	sunflower oil for frying
ROASTED PEPPER SAUCE
4	red peppers
3 tbsp	olive oil
1 tsp	salt
25g	coriander, leaves and stalks
1	garlic clove, peeled
1	small mild chilli, deseeded
2 tbsp	sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp	cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.
To prepare the peppers for the sauce, quarter them with a sharp knife and shave off the white parts and the seeds. Put them in a roasting tray and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and ½ teaspoon of the salt, then roast in the oven for 35 minutes or until soft.
Transfer the hot peppers to a bowl and cover it with cling film. Once they have cooled down a little, you can peel them, although it isn’t essential for this sauce. In any case, place them in a blender or food processor with their roasting juices and add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Process until smooth, then taste and adjust the salt if necessary. Set aside. For the meatballs, place a heavy, non-stick frying pan over a high heat and throw in the corn kernels. Toss them in the hot pan for 2–3 minutes, until lightly blackened. Remove and leave to cool. Soak the bread in cold water for a minute, then squeeze well and crumble it into a large bowl.
Add all the rest of the ingredients except the sunflower oil and mix well with your hands.
Pour a 5mm depth of sunflower oil into your heavy frying pan. Allow it to heat up well and then fry about a teaspoonful of the mince mix in it. Remove, let cool a little and then taste.
Adjust the amount of salt and pepper in the uncooked mixture to your liking. With wet hands, shape the mince mix into balls, about the size of golf balls.
Cook them in small batches in the hot oil, turning them around in the pan until they are golden brown all over.
Transfer to an oven tray, place in the oven at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 and cook for about 5 minutes. When you press one with your finger, the meat should bounce back. If unsure, break one open to check that it is cooked inside. Serve hot or warm, with the pepper sauce on the side.