This June Balls & Company, the meatball specialists on Soho’s Greek Street, will take a whirlwind trip around the world with a specially created menu of meatballs, inspired by some of Founder Bonny Porter’s favourite flavours from afar. Growing up in Sydney surrounded by a plethora of culinary traditions, Bonny will take guests from Morocco to Mexico, Italy to Argentina, for one month only with her ‘Around The World’ menu, which will also be supporting the World Food Programme, with a £1 donation added to each bill.
To kick off proceedings, starters will come courtesy of Brazil and Italy; sweet potato and crab bolinhos with chilli sauce, and mushroom with aioli and truffle honey, which will be followed by Balls & Company’s signature offering of house-made meatballs, with a far-flung twist. Morocco will be represented by chermoula cous cous with cumin honey and yoghurt, whilst from Vietnam prawn and rice topped with pork floss and sweet chilli sauce will explore flavours from the East. The Mexican meatball of chorizo, aioli, jalopēno hot sauce and crispy shallots will sit alongside the USA edition of spiced bbq shortrib and corn hushpuppy, with the line-up completed by Malaysia; marinated chicken with a satay sauce. Of course, meatballs will be in good company with a host of seasonal sides from Charred baby gem and summer greens with pangrattato to Roasted aubergine with labne, honey, pomegratate and Dukkah, and Polenta chips with rosemary salt.
To finish things on a sweet note, desserts have been inspired by South America and South East Asia, with a classic Argentine dish of doughnut alfajores and Thai grilled sticky rice with banana, charred in banana leaf.
Founder and Head Chef Bonny says‘When I was younger my parents would take me and my sisters out to dinner every Saturday to try a new style of food; it could have been a side of the road Thai shack, or a Malaysian neighbourhood restaurant, but it always opened up my imagination and made me curious to learn about how other people use flavour. This menu is my way of embracing and celebrating the cultures and foods which have inspired me, and I don’t think there’s a better place to do it than in the melting pot of London, and for such a great cause’