Herb-y Lamb Meatballs in Marinara

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If you happen upon some local, grass-fed, fresh ground lamb at your grocers or butchers, snatch it up and save it in the freezer for the time when you want to put dinner on the table quickly, bringing in some summer goodness with the marinara sauce you made back in September from the bounty of delicious, organically grown tomatoes from the farmers market.

To begin this dish, defrost your marinara sauce and heat in a saucepan. I made many, many containers of Kalyn's Sausage and Basil Marinara Sauce last September, leaving sausage out of half the sauce, and used a container of the meatless sauce for this recipe. You could also use a good, store-bought marinara.

Lamb Meatballs with Oregano in Marinara Sauce
Ingredients:
1 pound ground lamb, local, grass-fed is best
1/3 cup finely ground, dried bread crumbs (I use local Brio croutons that I grind in the food processor)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
A few grinds Tellicherry peppercorns
Olive oil for the pan

Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine well all the ingredients except the olive oil.
Scoop up about 2 tablespoons worth of lamb mixture and, using the palms of your hands, roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining lamb.
Drizzle olive oil into a large, heavy pan set over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the lamb meatballs and saute until nicely browned all over and just cooked through.
Drain meatballs on paper towels.

To serve, place a pool of marinara sauce on a warmed plate and top with meatballs. A roasted medley of cauliflower, carrots and mushrooms rounded out our plates.