Pork and Mushrooms Meatballs with Braised Lentils and Jam

Finely chop all of the mushrooms (they don’t need to be neat, just mince them up, use a food processor if you like).

Place a large pan over a medium-high heat and add a splash of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 mins until the mushrooms have browned nicely.

Remove the mushrooms into a large bowl and wipe out the pan. Mix the milk and breadcrumbs together and finely chop the parsley, then add both to the mushrooms along with the pork mince, egg, nutmeg, plenty of black pepper and a tsp of salt.

Mix really well with your hands until combined. Grab a tray and set it next to your mixing bowl. Roll the mix into meatballs about the size of golf balls and place onto the tray.

Place your pan back onto a medium-high heat and add a splash of olive oil. Add the meatballs and cook for about 5 mins until nicely browned all over, then remove from the pan.

Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery (again feel free to use a food processor here) and add to the pan. Cook over a medium heat for about 7 mins until softening.

Pour in the lentils and the vinegar and cook for a minute, stirring. Pour in the chicken stock, bring up to a simmer and cook for about 30 mins until the lentils are tender. Keep an eye on the lentils and add more stock of a splash of water if needed.

Once the lentils have cooked through and the mix is saucy (they should be nice and saucy but a lot of the liquid should have been absorbed by this point), finely chop and add most of the dill along with the mustard and a tbsp of the sour cream. Stir through, taste and add salt if needed.

Return the meatballs to the pan and simmer for another few mins until they are hot all the way through.

Spoon the meatballs, lentils and sauce into bowls, add a sprinkle of dill, a dollop of sour cream and a spoon of jam to each bowl.