Lamb Meatball and Barley Stew /Mediterranean Salad With Prosciutto and Pomegranate

We're still in pomegranate season! I was looking for something to serve with a ground lamb dish, to use up a package from the freezer. I had decided on a meatball stew with yummy, chewy barley. I adore barley. It's tender yet substantial, giving your teeth something to bite into, thus elevating it among most grains in my opinion. I do like quinoa, and farro is close in texture and so trendy now, but to me, nothing beats good old fashioned humble barley.

The meatballs have some mint in them so they are similar to the version I make to go along with chopped Greek salad. I am still harvesting from The Colonel's garden, using mint and parsley for these recipes.

The salad uses pomegranate seeds, but also fennel. Fennel is a great veggie. It can go raw in a salad, or chopped into a relish with olives to go along side meat, or take a nice long saute in some fragrant butter to make an unctuous side. The prosciutto adds a hearty meatiness that just blends nicely with the fennel and seeds. 

I served with sourdough. Mangia!

Bubbling away

Lamb Meatball and Barley Stew

Adapted from Food.com

1 1⁄2 lbs ground lamb

1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

1⁄2 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used panko)

1 egg

1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (14 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 celery ribs, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup pearl barley

1⁄2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 lemon, juice and zest of

In a large Dutch oven, combine lamb, mint, bread crumbs, egg, and pepper. Using your hands, mix ingredients together well.

Form into 1 ½ inch meatballs and set aside on waxed paper.

In the same pan, combine the chicken broth, kidney beans, tomatoes and their liquid, carrot, turnip, celery, garlic and barley. Stir to mix.

Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Carefully add meatballs. Cover and simmer 1 ½ hours.

Stir in parsley, lemon juice and zest. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Mediterranean Salad with Prosciutto and Pomegranate

Bon Appetit

2 cups very thinly sliced fennel bulb

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

6 cups arugula (about 4 ounces)

1 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 3-ounce packages thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into strips

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Toss fennel and 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Combine arugula, green onions, mint, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in large bowl; toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide greens among plates. Top with fennel, then drape with prosciutto. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over.