Moroccan Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Brookelynne26's Note:

Serve with crusty bread, couscous, or rice to soak up leftover sauce. Moroccan paprika is slightly spicy, if yours isn't hot add a little cayenne.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 0 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 ¼ lbs ground lamb
• 3 teaspoons paprika , divided
• 2 teaspoons cumin , divided
• 12 sprigs fresh parsley , leaves chopped and divided
• salt
• 1 large garlic clove , peeled
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice , drained
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 small onion , peeled and roughly chopped into 8 pieces

Directions:

1. Make Meatballs: Place lamb in a large bowl. Measure in 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, half the chopped parsley, and 1 tsp salt. Mix to incorporate seasonings through meat. Roll meat into 1 inch balls and set aside.
2. Make the Sauce: Turn on food processor and drop garlic through feed tube. Let machine run until garlic is chopped, then stop. Remove lid and scrape down sides of the bowl. Add teh drained toamtoes, olive oil, tomato paste, and onion. Add remaining 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, and remaining parsley. Process until nearly smooth. Scrape into a pan or deep skillet that is 10 inches across. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook 2-4 minutes and then remove from heat.
3. Nestle meatballs into sauce in a single layer. Swirl pan gently to ensure that meatballs are covered with sauce. Set over medium heat with lid slightly ajar and cook 10-12 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through. Taste and add more salt if necessary. If sauce is very thick, add a bit of water. Serve.

Reviews

[*Parsley*]

Not your same old boring meatballs! These have really great flavor. I halved the amount of olive oil in the sauce and added just a pinch of sugar. I used very lean ground lamb, which I recommend using, since the fat doesn't get drained off. Thanx for an awesome meatball recipe!

[Random Cook]

This dish is unbelievable! The flavors are wonderfully exotic with the lamb and spices. Don't pass this one up, you are sure to impress!!!

[Z-chef]

Really good. It was strange in that the more I ate, the better it got. At first, I thought it didn't have a lot of flavor, but it's very subtle and has a lingering flavor on the palate. It seems more Greek to me than Moroccan. It reminds me very much of a dish we had in Greece. I served it over Orzo, sprinkled with Feta Cheese, and a Greek Sala. Very nice meal which I wouldn't hesitate to feed to company!! Thanks for posting.