This vibrant green sauce instantly elevates a plate of spiced lamb meatballs. It’s perfect served alongside fresh, herby couscous, though the meatballs and sauce would be equally delicious stuffed into fluffy pitta breads.
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Yields:
4 serving(s)
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
35 mins
Cal/Serv:
561
Ingredients
For the pistachio sauce:
75 g pistachios
handful of mint
handful of dill
handful of tarragon
2 lemon juice
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
75 ml extra virgin olive oil
For the meatballs:
400 g10% fat lamb mince
2 tsp. ras el hanout
1 tsp. onion granules
1 tsp. garlic granules
1 Tbsp. harissa
1 Tbsp. olive oil
200 g labneh
3 Tbsp. Herby Pistachio Spoonover Sauce
For the salad:
1 chicken stock cube
225 g giant couscous
300 g cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
1 cucumber, finely chopped
Directions
Step 1Put 50 g pistachios into a high-speed blender with a handful each of mint, dill and tarragon, the juice of 2 lemons, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 75 ml extra virgin olive oil and plenty of seasoning. Blitz until smooth. Roughly chop an extra 25 g pistachios and stir through the sauce.
Step 2For the meatballs, mix the lamb mince with the ras el hanout, onion granules, garlic granules, harissa and plenty of seasoning. Shape into 12 meatballs and transfer to a plate. Chill for 30 minutes.
Step 3For the salad, pour 500 ml water into a saucepan with the chicken stock cube and bring to the boil. Add the couscous and simmer for 6–8 minutes, until tender but still with a little bite. Drain and leave to steam dry. Transfer to a serving bowl and stir through the tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season well and set aside.
Step 4Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the meatballs for 8–10 minutes, turning regularly until evenly browned and cooked through.
Step 5Season the labneh and stir well to loosen. Spread over the base of a serving plate or shallow bowl and top with the cooked meatballs. Spoon over some of the herby pistachio sauce and serve with the couscous and flatbreads, if using.
GH tip:
The herby pistachio sauce is also delicious drizzled over grilled vegetables, roast chicken or spooned through warm grains for an easy flavour boost.
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
Sarah is Good Housekeeping's Kitchen and Homes Director, looking after all things food and homes for the brand. Sarah started her career in journalism, then retrained as a chef 15 years ago following a lifelong dream to work in food. Since retraining, she has worked as a private chef, assisted on tv commercials, created recipes for some of the country's leading brands and became the go-to birthday and wedding cake baker in her friends and family network. In 2025, she was shortlisted for Cookery Writer of the Year by the Guild of Food Writers
