Rukmini Iyer’s ginger sesame meatballs with rice and greens

I make variations of these meatballs every fortnight for my children, usually with chicken mince. The texture is fantastic and, whisper it, they’re even better made in an air fryer, though you have to cook them in one layer and may need multiple batches; I’ve provided oven timings below.

Use your favourite, best-quality mince – it makes a big difference to the flavour. Prep 15 min, cook 25 min, serves 4. Key ingredients include fresh ginger and garlic, spring onions, sesame seeds, coriander, fresh white breadcrumbs, 500g mince, an egg, sea salt flakes and sesame oil, plus pak choi and basmati rice with boiling water for the rice.

Tip the ginger, garlic, spring onions, sesame seeds, coriander and breadcrumbs into a food processor and blitz to a rough paste, then add the mince, egg and salt and blitz briefly. Alternatively, chop and mix by hand. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, shape the mixture into just-larger-than-walnut-sized balls, transfer to a large roasting tin, drizzle with half the sesame oil and turn to coat.

ginger, sesame, meatballs, chicken mince, air fryer, basmati rice, pak choi, spring onions, breadcrumbs, sesame oil