MOROCCAN MEATBALLS - OR KEFTA

MOROCCAN MEATBALLS

One of the things I always have in my freezer is a pack (or two) of minced lamb – either to make into an easy keema curry, spice up and spread on wraps with yoghurt and coriander ‘Peckham Pizza’ stylee (thanks Helen at Food Stories) or to make into these meatballs.  I was reminded of them seeing Rick Stein on his Mediterranean travels recently on ‘Saturday Kitchen’ so decided to cook them again last night.  They don’t take long to prepare then just need a little time to cook in the sauce and for all the flavours to meld.  Ideally this would be cooked in a tagine but I don’t have one, so I use a wide deep sauté pan with a lid.

And apologies for the photo - was too hungry to wait....

I serve this with rice or couscous, pitta bread and harissa – I buy a particularly yummy one from Borough Market, which I often eat on its own with pitta bread!

Meatballs

450g minced lamb

2tsp ground cumin

2tsp ras-el-hanout rouge powder

2 tblsp chopped parsley

1tsp hot smoked paprika

Salt and ground black pepper

1tblsp olive oil

Sauce

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp hot smoked paprika

2 cans chopped tomatoes

Salt and ground black pepper

2 tblsp olive oil

Coriander

To serve: Pitta bread, rice or couscous, harissa and yoghurt

Put the minced lamb and all the other ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl and scrunch together.  Add a little more salt than you think necessary and lots of black pepper.  Dampen your hands and make the mix into small balls – about 1” diameter.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and lightly brown the meatballs all over. Remove from pan and set to one side.

For the sauce, heat the oil in the frying pan and fry the onions and garlic gently for 5 – 10 minutes until soft and golden.  Add the cumin and paprika and lightly fry for a minute then add the tomatoes and seasoning.  Simmer gently for 20 minutes until the flavour has intensified add a little water if it is getting too thick.

Finally add the meatballs and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Sprinkle with coriander and servce.