North African Meatballs — My Culinary Fix

This is one of the many recipes I’ve gotten from the New York Times cooking website. You have to pay monthly, but it’s so worth it. The recipes are amazing and there are always tons of helpful comments below each recipe to help you along the way, or give you new ideas.

The amount of spices in the meatballs are a little overwhelming to see at first, but they really add an amazing flavor, so to me, it’s definitely worth it.

This recipe calls for saffron, which adds a really amazing flavor and color to the sauce so if you can swing it, buy it! But I have made it many times without and they are still great, so no worries if you don’t have it on hand. If you want you can substitute 1 tsp of paprika for the saffron.

If you want to plan ahead and make this for a party I would double the recipe. The sauce can be made up to a day in advance. You can also measure out all the dry spices for the meatballs and store them in an airtight container several days in advance. The meatballs can also be formed and stored in the fridge on a sheet tray covered in plastic wrap up to a day in advance. Take them out of the fridge about a half an hour before cooking to allow them to come to room temp and sprinkle them with flour before cooking. I have even seared them and then stored them in the fridge, the day before a party. The next day, I let the sauce and meatballs come to room temp, then I put them in a slow cooker along with the sauce and they’re great! They take about 2 hours on high.

One more thing! If you want to bake these instead of searing them, you can bake them in the oven at 350 for about 15 min to get some color on them, and then finish them in the sauce.

Source: NY Times

Servings: 4-6 servings, about 24 meatballs

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes (with kids…could be up to a day..lol jk)

Ingredients

For the sauce:

2 tbl olive oil

1 1/2 cups finely diced yellow onion (about 1 onion and a half)

3 garlic cloves minced

2 tbl tomato paste

1 inch piece cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp saffron crumbled (or 1 tsp of paprika)

Kosher Salt and Ground pepper

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

For the Meatballs:

1 1/2 cups cubed day old white bread

1 cup milk

1lb ground beef or lamb

1 large egg, beaten

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 garlic cloves minced

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp tumeric

2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

3 tbl chopped parsley

3 tbl chopped cilantro

3 tbl finely chopped scallion

All purpose flour for dusting

(Rice or cous cous optional)

Make the sauce:

1- In a heavy bottomed sauce pan heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook stirring now and then until onions are soft and translucent with no browning, about 5-7 min.

2- Add the tomato paste, garlic, saffron (or paprika) and cinnamon stick and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season with 1/2 tsp of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper and let cook for a minute or so more.

3- Add in the broth and scrape any flavory bits off the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary. It will won’t be very thick yet, but once the meatballs are added with their flour coating the broth will thicken slightly.

Can be made several days in advance stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Make the Meatballs:

1- Soak the bread in the milk for 5 minutes.

2- Squeeze out the bread and add into a large bowl. Add to it the egg, salt, pepper, garlic, and spices and mix with a wooden spoon (or your hands) until combined. Next add the meat and 2 tbl each of the parsley, cilantro and scallions. Mix until combined.

3- Scoop the meat mixture using a tablespoon scoop (or make them about the size of a quarter). Roll them in between your hands to form the meatballs.

4- Gently roll each meatball in a shallow dish with flour, shaking off the excess. Place floured meatballs on a sheet pan.

5- Heat a cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat, add about 3 tablespoons of oil and when it shimmers add several of the meatballs making sure not to overcrowd the pan.

6- Sear them on each side for about 2 min, making sure not to brown them too much. Blot them on a paper towel and then add to the sauce.

7- Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for about 20 min until cooked through in a covered saucepan. (If using a slow cooker, if sauce is warm or room temp, cook on low for about 1hr, if from the fridge start on high for about 2hr, when sauce is hot place on low and cook for an additional hour or until cooked through)

8- Serve with rice or cous cous, or as is.