Handmade gourmet delights served from festival food truck

Jez Felwick's grass-covered van, The Bowler, has become a familiar sight at festivals and events around the UK and his handmade gourmet meat, fish and veg balls have put him at the forefront of the country's street food scene.

Jez used inheritance money from his grandmother to train at the Ballymaloe cookery school near Cork before working on an organic farm, where he learnt about using the best local produce.

A trip to the US introduced him to the "food truck" scene and this inspired The Bowler, which makes regular appearances at farmers' markets, music events and summer festivals.

And now Jez has written his first cookbook featuring his recipes for a wide range of meat, fish and veg balls, including this Greek-inspired lamb and Feta cheese meatball dish.

Jez says: "I was born on a British Air Force base in Cyprus, in the middle of the war in 1974.

"This must have been where I developed my passion for Greek flavours, despite leaving before I was a year old.

"Salty feta, with full-flavoured lamb and fresh mint is a classic combination and will work just as well on a stuffed leg of lamb as it does here."

The Bowler's Meatball Cookbook by Jez Felwick is published by Mitchell Beazley, £16.99.

2 tbspns olive oil

Half an onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 large free-range egg

75g feta cheese, crumbled

500g lamb shoulder, minced

100g breadcrumbs

2 tbspns finely chopped mint leaves

1 tspn dried mixed herbs

1 tspn dried mint

Half a tspn salt

1 tbspn ground cumin

50ml double cream

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime

Preheat the oven to 220C (425F), gas mark 7 and line a large baking tray with non-stick baking parchment.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add the onion and cook on a low heat for two minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for another five minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent.

Beat the egg in a large bowl.

Add the feta, minced lamb, breadcrumbs, fresh and dried herbs, salt, cumin, cream and lime zest and juice, then and mix with your hands until well combined.

Heat a small frying pan over a high heat.

Break off a small amount of the mixture, flatten between your fingers and fry until cooked.

Taste to check the seasoning and add more if necessary.

Form the mixture into 16 balls each 5cm in diameter, packing each one firmly, and place them on the prepared baking tray.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, turning the tray halfway through – the balls should begin to brown on the top.

Keep an eye on them to make sure that they don't get burnt underneath.

Simply serve these straight from the oven with a dipping sauce of cumin soured cream or spicy lime yoghurt (see recipes right).

1 tspn cumin seeds

150ml soured cream

100ml Greek-style yoghurt

A pinch of cayenne pepper

1 small garlic clove, crushed

Salt

Heat a heavy-based non-stick frying pan over a medium heat until it begins to smoke.

Add the cumin seeds, shaking the pan constantly until they give off a nice aroma and begin to pop. Remove them from the heat, let them cool down a little, then grind them to a powder using a pestle and mortar.

Put the soured cream, yoghurt, cayenne and garlic (if using) into a bowl, stir and add the ground cumin seeds and salt to taste.

250ml Greek-style yoghurt

2 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime

1 tspn Tabasco sauce

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Simply mix the yoghurt and coriander together in a bowl with half the lime juice and Tabasco.

Taste, add more lime and Tabasco if necessary, then beat in the oil. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.