Summer recipes by Tom & Richard

Rochdale culinary pals Tom McNeeney and Richard Rodriguez have come together to compile some recipes that compliment each other perfectly. Richard is an instagram sensation with tens of thousands of followers who love his big, bold, flavourful recipes and Tom’s built up a following of his own at his family’s incredibly successful pub The Oxford.

This edition, Richard is treating us to one of his all time summer favourites with these incredible lamb meatballs and Tom has come up with a few bright and breezy little numbers to go alongside it... and even a Sangria for some sunshine sipping on the side.

Manchego Lamb Meatballs

Prep Time 10 minutes - Total Time 45 minutes - Makes around 16 meatballs

Meatballs or albóndigas as they are called in Spain, are a thing of beauty done right. They should be soft and juicy not hard and dry. Mixed with pasta, in a sub roll or just with some bread, any way is good.

And if you have never tried lamb meatballs now is your chance. Minced lamb mixed with manchego cheese, garlic, paprika, cloves and red wine in a tomato sauce, heavenly!

Meatball Ingredients:

500g of minced lamb

50g of manchego cheese

grated 2 garlic cloves

grated 1 tsp of smoked sweet paprika

1 small pinch of ground cloves

1 small handful of fresh parsley, chopped

1 egg

1 slice of white bread, crust removed

40mls of red wine C

chilli flakes (optional)

Sauce Ingredients:

400g of chopped tomatoes

1 small onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 small pinch of brown sugar

70mls of red wine

Garnish:

Chopped fresh parsley

Grated manchego cheese

Extra-virgin olive oil

Method

Into a large bowl add all the meatball ingredients, season and mix together. Form into individual balls just slightly smaller than a golf ball, you should get around 16. I find it easier to mould if you wet your hands a little.

Place a large non-stick pan over a medium to high and allow that to heat up for a minute or so. Pour in a drizzle of olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Then add the meatballs, give the pan a little shake to prevent them from sticking. Cook on each side for around 3 minutes or till nicely browned, then place to one side. At this stage you are not looking to cook them all the way through, you just want to build a nice crust.

You are going to make the sauce in the same pan that you fried the meatballs in. Turn the heat down to low and add the onions and garlic with a pinch of salt.

There should be enough fat in the pan to cook the onions - if not just add a small drizzle of oil.

Once the onions and garlic are nice and soft turn up the heat to high and pour in the red wine. Allow the wine to reduce, should only take a couple of minutes. Once it has, turn the heat down to low and add the tin tomatoes, brown sugar and mix.

Simmer for a couple of minutes before adding the meatballs to the sauce. If you like before returning the meatballs you can use a handheld stick blender to whizz the sauce till smooth, I did! Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for 15 minutes or till cooked through.

To finish the dish garnish with fresh chopped parsley, some grated manchego cheese and a nice drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, enjoy!

Baby Gem Salad Cups

In one of my countless cookbooks I’ve got, years ago there was a line that really stuck with me; once you start seeing a salad as vegetable nachos you’ll never make a boring one again. Nothing embodies that revolutionary statement like these little beauties.

1 tomato (diced)

1/2 a cucumber (diced)

2 baby gem lettuces

100g stilton

2 heaped teaspoons sour cream

1 heaped teaspoon mayonnaise

1 spring onion

2 slices of streaky bacon (diced)

1 tablespoon crispy onions

First of all put your diced bacon in a non-stick pan over a medium heat, keep it moving while you crack on with the rest.

Now break off the first four big leaves on each lettuce, wash and arrange on a big plate like little boats, roughly chop the rest of each lettuce and add to a bowl with the cucumber and tomato.

In a separate bowl crumble 3/4 of your stilton, add in your mayo and sour cream then combine, use a fork to really break down the cheese, get some black pepper in there too. Once you’re happy it’s mixed well, toss over your lettuce mix and give it all a stir.

Pile the dressed salad into the lettuce cups, lift your crispy bacon out of the pan and sprinkle over, crumble over the last of the stilton and some of those crispy salad onions you get. At the last minute finely chop your spring onions and dash them over the top too. Bonza.

Tom McNeeney

Cheesy Garlic Bites

Outrageously easy to make, these little morsels of cheesy goodness tick all the garlic bread boxes and for how easy they are you’ll be making them far far too often. You can add all sorts to the centres like pesto or pepperoni but I’m a simple soul, cheese is all I need.

2 par cooked baguettes (those vacuum packed ones)

1 heaped teaspoon garlic granules

1 heaped teaspoon

parmesan

2 tablespoons of spreadable butter

few spring of fresh parsley finely chopped (or a sprinkle of dried)

100g grated mozzarella & cheddar mix

You’re going to need a large non-stick pan on a medium heat.

In a bowl combine your garlic, parmesan, butter and parsley, give it a good old mix, season it, obviously, then pop it to one side.

Now cut your baguettes into 1cm slices, spread some of the garlic butter on one side of all of them.

Then, working in batches, lay half of the slices, butter side down in your hot pan, place a good pinch of grated cheese on the naked side, then top with the other half of your garlic slices, butter side up.

Give these rascals five or six minutes then carefully flip them over for another 4 minutes,

remove them from the pan and wait an agonising few minutes before eating them.

Ridiculously good, thank me later.

Peach Sangria

Everyone loves a Sangria, it’s a summer staple, but all the red wine and brandy are a one way ticket to the mother of all bad heads. So for this I’ve lightened everything up a bit for a real summery little number that still packs a punch.

Get yourself a big jug, 2/3’s fill it with ice and pour over 100ml of peach gin, followed by 500ml of white rioja, then top the lot up with pink lemonade.

Throw in some fruit, normally I’d use whatever I had lying about but I had to do photos for a magazine so I opted for watermelon, strawberries and rosemary which all worked perfectly.

Give the whole thing a few stirs with a wooden spoon (I don’t know the story behind the spoon) then enjoy in your garden, balcony, doorstep, windowsill or roof. Cheers.