These lamb merguez meatball dumplings are wrapped in tender spring greens, baked with chickpeas and juicy cherry tomatoes. The merguez-spiced lamb creates rich, savoury juices that are perfect for spooning over giant couscous or grains. Finished with a vibrant basil sauce, it’s a hearty yet fresh centrepiece that’s ideal for summer entertaining.
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Yields:
4 - 6 serving(s)
Prep Time:
45 mins
Cook Time:
55 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 40 mins
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
825 g merguez sausages
or:
800 g lamb mince
100 g breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. ground fennel
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
For the traybake:
16 medium to large spring green leaves
2 jars bold bean chickpeas
500 g mixed cherry tomatoes
drizzle of olive oil
2 tsp. flaky salt
200 ml chicken stock
For the basil sauce:
30 g basil
50 ml olive oil
10 ml white wine vinegar
pinch of flaky salt
Directions
Step 1Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C Fan) mark 7. Bring a medium pan of salted water to the boil and prepare a bowl of ice-cold water.
Step 2Remove the thick stem from the base of each spring green leaf, trimming up to where the stem becomes more tender.
Step 3Blanch the leaves in batches for 30sec-1min, until softened and bright green. Transfer immediately to the ice-cold water, then drain and leave to dry on a rack or clean tea towel.
Step 4If making your own meatballs, in a large bowl combine lamb mince, breadcrumbs, milk, fennel, cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix until evenly combined. If using pre-made sausages, remove sausage meat from casing into a bowl.
Step 5Shape the mixture into 16 oval meatballs, about 50g each. If you have some leftover either add into each meatball or make a few extra.
Step 6In a large roasting tray, add chickpeas and cherry tomatoes, leaving some tomatoes whole and halving others. Drizzle with olive oil and season with 1tsp flaky salt.
Step 7To make the dumplings, lay a spring green leaf on a work surface with the naturally curved side facing upwards and the trimmed stem end closest to you. Place a meatball just above the trimmed section, fold in the sides and carefully roll up, like a burrito.
Step 8Nestle each dumpling into the chickpea and tomato mixture, using the vegetables to keep them in place. Repeat until all dumplings are wrapped. Pour over the chicken stock, cover the tray tightly with foil and bake for 40min.
Step 9Remove the foil and bake for a further 10min, until the tomatoes have softened and some of the liquid has cooked off.
Step 10Meanwhile, make the basil sauce. Blitz basil, olive oil, vinegar and a pinch of salt until smooth.
Step 11Drizzle over the basil sauce and serve with giant couscous or your favourite grains.
GH tips:
If you cant find spring greens, use savoy or sweetheart cabbage leaves.
Pre-make your meatballs a day ahead for less prep.
Don’t worry if your leaves don’t fully fold in on the edges, use the tomatoes and chickpeas to hold it together.
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
Frankie is the Junior Food Content Producer, developing, testing and refining recipes, as well as creating fun, educational content across the GH Kitchen’s print and digital platforms. While studying Communications and Media, her passion for bringing people together through food quickly found its place in the kitchen, leading to a career shaped by hands-on experience in the hospitality industry. Now, she brings that same energy and creativity into the world of food publishing. Previously, Frankie trained as both a baker and chef at Landrace Bakery and Upstairs restaurant in Bath, Somerset. She has also worked as a freelance assistant food stylist and private chef in London, combining a love of beautiful presentation with flavour-led, seasonal cooking.
