Reheating time: 10-15 minutes

Are you sick of hearing me tell you, “this might be one of the best yet?” or, “oh my goodness, what a treat” or, “holy cow- I mean, holy lamb, this is good?”?  If so, stop reading this now. Because let me tell you something- well, now I can’t find the words. I feel I’ve exhausted all my options. It’s really good. Lamb has finally made the cut. I was scared, cause I know how picky some of you can be- but I am so glad that you all sprung for tonight’s dinner, comfort zone or not. I honestly don’t even know how to approach this. There’s so much going on tonight, from the tender and juicy meatballs, loaded with spices and aromatics, floral lavender chickpeas (lowkey, best part of the whole dinner), the creamy roasted garlic labneh, with all the fresh tomato sugo and fluffy spiced rice in between. Truly comfort food, with the freshness and flavors of spring. I don’t even want to tell you how many pounds of herbs we had to order for this dinner. Take some guesses after you eat- and let me know! Winner gets… prize TBD. 

Get in there!

For the lamb meatballs:

As I am writing this, my mind is completely engulfed by a memory from a summer evening a few years ago- when I used this same meatball mix to stuff pita bread, and grilled it over charcoal… unreal. But it had me thinking- should you grill the meatballs? Probably. Grilled till hot, then submerged in the warm sauce- that’s the way to go. But if you don’t feel like firing up the charcoal grill (I don’t blame you), there’s definitely an easier way! You can 1. Microwave (meh), 2. Broil (faster, better, but might get dry), or 3. Simmer in the sauce till hot (definitely the best way to go, besides grilling -> warm sauce). Warm the saffron + tomato sugo in a small saucepot over medium heat, add the meatballs (maybe a bit of water to dilute the sauce), and simmer till hot and juicy! Easy. And delicious!

For the chickpeas:

First of all- these are NOT mushy chickpeas! They are supposed to have a lot more texture than you’re used to. We cooked these pretty little legumes from dried- for maximum flavor absorption, and so they aren’t like, all gross and slimy (canned chickpeas are kinda… well, whatever). To reheat, you can totally microwave them if you don’t want to dirty another pot. But they are best if warmed slowly in their own juices, over medium heat, in a saucepot or sautee pan- helps to bloom the flavors, and cooking down the juices for some flavor concentration is recommended. You can even add butter! Or not! I don’t care! Get them hot! 

For the rice:

I’ve inched closer and closer to telling you to microwave things in these instructions, and I’m finally just committing- nuke the rice. It’s easy, it’s totally fine, and we just want to get it nice and hot. HOWEVER! Frying this super aromatic rice in a sautee pan with some fat is definitely a level-up move. But I know, you’re hungry, and I’ll let you do you. Hot rice = good rice. Nice and hot. 

Plate it up!

Rice, chickpeas, meatballs and a generous amount of sauce. Last (but definitely not least), some labneh. Be generous. There’s a reason we gave you so much 🙂