We have a rotating "family dinner" with a small group of friends where each person prepares dinner for the group and we all stop to relax. It's like a dinner party, but everyone involved has to take a turn, which solves the usual dinner problem of the best cook in the group having all the dinners. It's a great way to increase your cooking skills and cook for a larger table than you would normally be comfortable with. I think we have all become better cooks because of this. This week it was my turn and with our Moroccan venue closed due to world events and all that, I thought it was time to do it.
From start to finish, this whole meatball dish only lasts about an hour. The meatballs are made in the Moroccan style, so it only takes 8 minutes to cook them in tomato sauce. Because they don't contain eggs or breadcrumbs, it's a great dish if you (or the friends or family you eat with) are keto or gluten-free. But, since they don't have eggs or breadcrumbs, you need to be careful not to overcook the meatballs, unless you like fluffy meatballs (which I actually do).
It sounds like a great ingredient list because I broke them into two parts, but the meatballs and tomato sauce use the exact same ingredients so you can prepare both parts at once and get the most out of the spice feast you have to buy.
These meatballs were so much fun to make and even more fun to eat. We paired them with Israeli couscous and falafel for a pan-Mediterranean feast. They were so good that I plan to rotate them for our Monday through Friday dinners.
If you like these flavors, try making Fattoush Salad, Roasted Red Pepper Dip, or Harissa Salmon!
Moroccan lamb meatballs recipe in tomato sauce
It serves 2
Time to cook 55 min
Total time 1 hour
For the tomato sauce
- 1/4 Cortado olive oil
- 1 Medium onion Cortado
- 4 4 cloves Garlic crushed
- 2 14 oz boxes of tomatoes see note
- 1 coffee scoop smoked paprika
- 1 coffee scoop cumin powder
- 1/2 coffee scoop ground cayenne pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 soup spoon parsley very finely chopped
- 2 soup spoon cilantro very finely chopped
For the meatballs
- 1 kg ground lamb
- 2 soup spoon parsley very finely chopped
- 2 soup spoon cilantro very finely chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 2 soup spoon coriander seeds, crushed see note
- 1 soup spoon cumin powder
- 1 coffee scoop ground cinnamon
- 1 coffee scoop Cayenne pepper
- Make the tomato sauce: Add the olive oil and onion to a large skillet or skillet over medium heat and cook until the onions are translucent and golden brown (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn't burn.
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Add the tomato sauce, herbs and spices and reduce the heat to low. Season with salt and pepper, then continue to simmer as you prepare the meatballs. The sauce should simmer for at least half an hour.
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Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs. Season with salt and pepper, then mix well. Form a sample of meatballs about an inch wide and place in tomato sauce for 8 minutes.
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Cut the meatball sample in half to make sure it's cooked through, then taste the seasoning. If the seasoning is good, form the rest of the meatballs.
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Scoop the meatballs into the sauce in batches if necessary to avoid clogging the pan. Add water if sauce has reduced too much to cover meatballs.
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Serve immediately, garnished with poached eggs (you can poach the egg directly into the tomato sauce) and chopped herbs.
Note 2: Coriander can be bought ground, but roasting and grinding the seeds with a mortar and pestle is a lot of fun and makes for a much better end product.
Note 3: meatballs are traditionally quite spicy. If you prefer a less pronounced flavor, cut the spices in half before preparing the meatball sample.
