WATER BUFFALO MEATBALLS WITH CARDOONS

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Serves 4

Don’t worry if you haven’t got a friendly herd of water buffalo near you! You can also use beef or pork. But I do have a water buffalo farmer nearby – Jon Thorpe not only sells their meat but makes, in my opinion, the best British buffalo mozzarella at his farm near Yeovil. (Visit buffaliciousuk.com if you’re interested.)

If you can’t get your hands on cardoons, replace them with celery stalks. I’ve been growing cardoons in my garden for a few years now and as well as being decorative, they make all sorts of delicious dishes, though you rarely see them on menus. They are a member of the same family as the artichoke, have edible stems and produce a beautiful purple flower, which looks great in a vase.

INGREDIENTS For the cardoons

– 2-3 stalks of cardoons – 1 medium onion

– 4 garlic cloves

– 1 tsp cumin seeds

– 2 tbsp olive or

rapeseed oil

– 75ml white-wine vinegar or cider vinegar

– 20g brown sugar –1x400gcanof

chopped tomatoes

– 1 tbsp oregano or

marjoram leaves

For the meatballs

– 250-300g minced water buffalo or beef with approximately 20 per cent fat

– 50g fresh white

breadcrumbs

– 1 tsp ground cumin – vegetable or corn oil,

for frying

METHOD Prepare the cardoons by stripping off the leaves, then with a small sharp knife or peeler, peel the stringy skin from the stems. I prefer the knife as a peeler doesn’t always do the job. Peel and finely chop the onion, and peel and crush the garlic.

Slice the cardoons on an angle and cook in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes, then drain. This gets rid of the initial occasional bitterness.

Cook the onion, garlic and cumin seeds in the oil on a low heat for 3-4 minutes, then add the vinegar and sugar, and simmer until the vinegar has almost evaporated. Add the canned tomatoes, season then bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 35-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the mincemeat with the breadcrumbs and cumin, and season with salt and pepper. Mould into 10p-piecesized meatballs.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs evenly onahighheat–you may need to do this in two batches – then put to one side.

Add the cardoons, oregano or marjoram and meatballs to the sauce and continue simmering for about 20 minutes, or until the cardoons are tender. Re-season if necessary, and serve.