Sometimes you have mince, but you don't want burgers and you don't want bolognaise, but your freezer's full of chilli. Am I right? That's when necessity becomes the mother of invention. I present to you my Moroccan Flatballs. They're like meatballs, only…well, flat. And they are delightful in a wrap.
1. First thing's first! Slice up the onion. Heat a small saucepan over a medium heat, with a tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, chuck in the onions and allow them to cook down and caramelise. Don't put a lid on – that'll halt the browning process. Towards the end, add a small glug of balsamic vinegar, helping the sweetness and browning along.
2. While the onions are cooking out, make the Flatballs. Your mince should be placed at room temperature or the finished balls should be left at room temperature for about 20 minutes or so before cooking. Put the mince in a nice big bowl and break it up a little. I like to use a Pyrex bowl so you can see all sides of the mince and make sure everything's really well-mixed.
3. Add all the flavourings at this stage, including grating in the garlic. Don't add any salt at this stage.
4. Wash your hands well then mix it all together – don't be afraid of the mince! It'll need to be kneaded together to make sure the flavouring gets evenly distributed. Then, chop in the apricots and mix once more.
5. Get a plate ready! Tear off little pieces and roll into balls the size of golf balls. Flatten them between your hands and place on the plate. You can of course leave them as balls or make larger burgers, but I quite liked that these were a little but different.
6. Preheat the oven to 180c. Put a large frying pan on the hob and set to a high heat. Once the pan's nice and hot, you can start to dry off your Flatballs, putting no more than 4 in the pan at a time to avoid bringing the temperature down. Fry until brown then flip over and repeat.
7. Place the browned Flatballs on a baking tray lined with tin foil and put in the oven for around 10 minutes, until the balls are sizzle and cooked through. To reheat the onions, chuck them into the frying pan and they'll take on some of those meaty juices.
8. Season and serve how you will. But look how good they look in a wrap!