Hello all! This time its me, Cody, who will write the introduction to one of the best meals I’ve ever tasted. As some people know, Tia and I traveled to Greece and Israel a few years back and some of the unique flavors we experienced over there opened a whole new world of cooking for us. After a few months of experimenting, Tia came up with a brilliant idea to make THIS recipe. Now, I lived in Greece and I have been fortunate enough to sample some of the world’s best food elsewhere too… This recipe however beats nearly everything I had abroad… We had a lot of fun making this recipe, and if you have a couple hours to devote to it, you can have this life changing dish too! Also, for all those skeptics out there… I understand that plating is our greatest weakness… But all that mess is purely delicious!
Now… We must admit that we didn’t expect to be publishing recipes for other people to see when we made this dish six months ago and the honest truth is that we don’t totally remember how we did some of it. That being said, its not hard to take the basic flavor profile we show you to make something great!
And so we begin! This recipe requires a healthy stock of spices…
Okay here is what I used~
For the Moroccan meatballs:
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1 egg
- Lots of fresh chopped garlic (we used about 6 cloves)
The spice blend is what gives the dish its character. Use whatever you want! We didn’t record how much of each spice we put in but we did put them in somewhat similar proportions…
Here you can see we added the following to the lamb and beef mixture:
- Diced garlic
- Turmeric- Execellent natural anti-inflammatory! Don’t be afraid to use a healthy portion! But do be warned this color will stay on your hands for a little bit if you mix by hand!
- Cumin
- Ginger
- Paprika
- Cayenne (remember folks, cayenne is there to pack punch not flavor… use caution)
- Salt and Pepper
We also used a small amount of clove, cinnamon and fresh ground Grenadian nutmeg. Beware if you choose to use these spices! They impart incredible flavor to many dishes, but when over-used they can kill a dish.
After all of the above are mixed (Hands are probably your best option for this!)
Add-
- A few slices of bread, cubed, toasted, and soaked in 1 cup of milk (We realize this sounds absurd, but trust us! It gives the meatballs a great texture!
And Mix gently to combine.
When combined start shaping into balls like this! We learned this shape of meatball from a greek lady named Lena who was nice enough to allow her into her home in Athens for a cooking lesson. These meatballs are admittedly a version of hers, just with added spice because we like that 🙂 This shape may look intimidating but I actually found it easier! A large table spoon will help you make the shape and will also make the meatballs consistent in size.
Then sear off each side of the meatballs in a cast iron skillet (apologies we did not take any pictures of this step! Once they go in the pan they can be a little time sensitive. Once they are brown on all sides stick them in the sauce to simmer.
For the sauce:
Saute:
-2 small or 1 large minced onion
-Lots more garlic
Add:
-4 Cups of broth of your choice (we use the veggie stock concentrate that comes in a jar for just about all of our stock needs)
-1 can crushed tomatoes
-Tomato Paste
-Either a few saffron threads or a mix of spices similar to above (we used the later as we did not have any saffron :))
Simmer until meatballs go in, and for about 10-20 minutes after (or until meatballs are cooked through)
We served our meatballs with Israeli couscous tossed with chopped herbs, but this could easily be served with a steamed veggie or a Greek salad 🙂
Enjoy 🙂
Tia and Cody
Savory Sweet Bitters 