COME FOR SUPPER WITH FLORENCE BLAIR
The one where I visit someone else's kitchen to find out how they like to entertain plus the recipe for Florence's Lamb And Mint Meatballs.
Hi and welcome back to COME FOR SUPPER.
A special edition of the newsletter today where I visit someone else's kitchen to find out how they like to entertain. This week I speak to Florence Blair, food stylist and recipe developer, who shares the recipe for her Lamb And Mint Meatballs.
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Florence Blair is a food stylist, prop stylist and recipe developer who I have been lucky enough to work with for many years. She is also the writer of Bits And Bobs which was one of the very first newsletters I subscribed to here on Substack. Her recipes ebb and flow with the seasons and always seem to be exactly what you feel like eating at just the right time. She is a fantastic, witty and often opinionated writer and I find I look forward to her words as much as I do her recipes. You can follow along with the delicious goings on in her kitchen on instagram too.
OVER TO FLORENCE
What are you cooking?
Lamb and mint meatballs. I serve them straight from the pot, bobbing in their broth like little buoys in a golden sea. Fregola, yoghurt, mint leaves, and lemon wedges are on the table for everyone to dollop, scatter and squeeze over their bowl. Giving people the opportunity to add their own finishing touches by passing round bowls, brushing elbows and doing the crowded tabletop jig feels more relaxed.
Tell me about the space?
We are currently in the middle of moving flats so at this precise moment in time there is no space! But in our previous flat, where we lived for many years and hosted many suppers for friends, the kitchen and living space was one, and very open, meaning food could be passed from oven or stove to table, and we could chat as I cooked and others grazed. I hope our next flat has a similarly open feel.
How would you describe your style of entertaining?
I like to get most bits done before everyone arrives but I’m very happy pottering in the kitchen making a salad, for example, or just finishing things off as I chat to people. In fact, that might be my favourite bit of the evening. Everything is served on platters or straight from the pot for people to help themselves. It can be a challenge to get everyone and everything to fit around our little table, but I would’t do it any other way.
On setting the table?
My non-negotiables are tapered candles and ironed napkins (I’m one of those odd people that finds ironing a stack of napkins quite satisfying - tragic, I know). A few cut stems in bud vases are nice to have out when people arrive, but as more platters, jugs and bottles are added to the table, inevitably something has to give and the bud vases are often relocated to another spot in the kitchen.


Do you have any hosting rituals? No particular rituals other than nearly always leaving the showering and getting dressed part a little too late. I have buzzed people in while standing in my towel more times than I care to admit…
Your favourite cookbooks?
My cookbooks live on shelves beside my bed and I flick through them more there than I do at the kitchen counter. Favourites include Appetite by Nigel Slater, The Cook You Want To Be by Andy Baraghani, and An A-Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy.
A song to cook to? You Send Me, Aretha Franklin
A song to eat to? Once people arrive, I defer to my husband for music. That is definitely his remit, and the playlist often includes Italian music.
What to drink? Wine and iced kombucha for those who aren’t drinking alcohol. I have a habit of buying the small selection of bottles I know and love over and over again.
Your go to drink for entertaining. How to make it. I don’t “make” drinks, sorry friends! I open bottles of wine. Writing this makes me feel very lazy… However, I do always have a big bunch of mint to do a pot of fresh mint tea for everyone as the evening winds down.
If this dinner party was a movie and you were the star, who would you like to play you? When it comes to having people over and cooking, I’ve always longed to be like Meryl Streep in It’s Complicated. That kitchen! The lavender ice cream! The fridge full of leftovers for people to tuck into in their PJs! Her generosity and effortlessness!
THE RECIPE
Lamb And Mint Meatballs
You can make the meatballs up to 2 days ahead. Once they have had their time simmering and are tender, leave to cool and pop in the fridge. Then on the day, all that’s left to do is gently reheat the meatballs and cook the fregola.
Serves 6
Big bunch of mint
2 unwaxed lemons
4 garlic cloves
2 eggs
100g fresh breadcrumbs
150g greek yoghurt, plus extra for serving
2 tsp dried mint Chilli flakes
800g lamb mince
Olive oil for frying
2 onions
2 celery sticks
1.5L chicken stock
500g fregola
80g pea shoots or watercress
Make and shape the meatballs
Pick the mint leaves, set a large handful aside for serving, and finely chop the rest. Peel a few strips of zest from one of the lemons and set aside for the broth. Finely grate the remaining zest of that lemon, the other lemon and the garlic cloves into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, lightly whisk, then add the breadcrumbs, yoghurt, dried mint, a pinch of chilli flakes, salt and pepper. Mix well then set aside for about 10 minutes, in which time the breadcrumbs will soak up some moisture. Add a large handful of the mince to the bread mixture and use your hands to mix until incorporated; by doing so you are bringing the bread mixture a little “closer” to the mince mixture, meaning that when you add the remaining mince it will be incorporated more easily without overworking, which we don’t want because overworking results in tougher meatballs. Add the remaining mince, plus a generous few pinches of salt and lots of black pepper, and mix with your hands until evenly distributed.
Test for seasoning and fry the meatballs
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large heavy-based pot and pull off a pinch of mixture as a test meatball. Fry this little tester until golden and taste for seasoning. This may seem annoying but there really is no other way to check the seasoning so this is an important step. Once you’re happy with the seasoning, gently roll the mixture into balls. Of course, the size is up to you but I prefer like them on the larger side so I make 18 balls, each about the size of an apricot. Add another drizzle of olive oil to the pot over a medium heat and work in batches to fry the meatballs until well browned all over, about 3-4 minutes per side. A couple of notes on browning: firstly, I’m very aware that a round meatball doesn’t have “sides” as such but I usually aim for browning on three sides-not-sides and don’t worry too much about having the perfect ball. I’d rather have well browned meatballs that are squiffy in shape than perfectly round ones that are a bit pallid. Secondly, to achieve good browning, be careful not to overcrowd the pan; if you add too many to the pan at a Fme, turning them will be tricky and the meatballs may steam rather than brown. Add more olive oil to the pan between batches if needed; the meatballs will render out fat as they fry so I don’t find this is usually necessary. Once all of the meatballs are browned, set aside on a large tray as you get on with the broth. Don’t wash or wipe out the pan, just lift out any crispy meatball bits; the fat remaining in the pan will be the base of the broth.
Make the broth
Finely chop the onions and celery. Add to the rendered fat in the pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 12-15 minutes over a fairly gentle heat until very soft (be sure to use your wooden spoon to scrape up any delicious browned bits stuck to the base of the pot from frying the meatballs). Add the reserved strips of lemon peel and a pinch of chilli flakes, cook for a minute or two until fragrant then pour in the stock. Bring up to a simmer and return the meatballs to the pot. Simmer gently for 10 minutes until the meatballs are tender (take out a sacrificial meatball to check). As the meatballs blip away, cook the fregola in a pot of salted water according to packet instructions.
The finishing touches
Add most of the pea shoots to the pot of meatballs (hold back on a large handful for serving) and stir through until just wilted. Add the juice of one of the zested lemons and taste for seasoning. Cut the remaining lemon into wedges for serving. Spoon a little mound of fregola into each bowl, followed by the meatballs and a generous ladle of broth. Serve with dollops of yoghurt, the reserved pea shoots, mint leaves, extra chilli flakes and the lemon wedges.
Thanks for reading and see you next time
x💋x💋
This looks absolutely amazing. Also love the photo of the hanging kitchen tools. Best way to store them.