Vietnamese Beef Meatball Salad

Pick the coriander leaves from their stalks 

Chop the stalks finely, keep the leaves separate 

Peel and finely chop (or grate) the garlic

Add the beef mince, fish sauce, chilli flakes, chopped garlic and coriander stalks (reserve the leaves for later!) to a medium bowl and mix thoroughly until combined (use clean hands!)

Divide the beef mixture into 10 [20] and shape into meatballs

Refrigerate the mixture until later 

Peel the carrot[s], then continue to peel lengths until you end up with a pile of carrot 'ribbons'

Slice the cucumber into rounds, then slice the disks into matchsticks 

Shred the little gem lettuce

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a matching lid, with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium heat

Once hot, add the chilled meatballs 

Cover with a lid and cook for 4-6 min, shaking occasionally so that the meatballs cook evenly

Meanwhile, peel and slice the shallot[s] finely

Chop the roasted peanuts roughly

Roll the lime[s] with your hand on a hard surface (to release more juice!) and cut into wedges 

Transfer the cooked meatballs to a plate - leave the cooking juices in the pan 

Add the shallot to the pan and cook over a medium heat for 1 min or until warmed through but not softened

Remove the pan from the heat and add the soy sauce and 1 tsp [2 tsp] sugar 

Squeeze the juice of 1/2 [1] lime into the pan and mix - this is your shallot dressing

Add the shredded little gem lettuce, cucumber matchsticks and carrot ribbons to a large bowl

Add the shallot dressing and mix with cleans hands - this is your salad