Tunisian Spiced Meatballs

From the blog For Love of the Table

The Sauce:

2 T. olive oil

1 1/2 c. finely diced onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 T. tomato paste

1 inch piece cinnamon stick

Large pinch saffron, crumbled

Salt and pepper

3 c. chicken broth, vegetable broth or water

The Meatballs:

1 1/2 c. cubed day-old firm white bread

1 c. milk

1 lb. ground lamb (or beef chuck)

1 large egg, beaten

1 t. kosher salt, divided

4 garlic cloves, smashed to a purée with some of the salt

1/4 t. black pepper

2 t. paprika

1 t. ground ginger

1 t. turmeric

1/2 t. ground cumin

1/4 t. cayenne

1/4 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. ground coriander

1/8 t. grated nutmeg

2 T. minced parsley

2 T. minced cilantro

2 T. finely chopped scallion, white and pale green portions

All-purpose flour, for dusting

Olive oil or vegetable oil

Chiffonade parsley and cilantro for garnish

Thinly sliced scallions (green portion only) for garnish

To make the sauce, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a wide, heavy bottomed saucepan. Add onion and cook without browning until softened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, cinnamon stick and saffron, and stir well to incorporate. Season generously with salt and pepper, and allow to sizzle for 1 minute more. Add broth, bring to a simmer, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. The sauce may be made up to a day in advance and refrigerated.

To make the meatballs, put bread cubes and milk in a small bowl and let the bread soak until softened, about 5 minutes, then squeeze dry and transfer to a medium bowl.

Add the ground meat to the bread and mix gently with your hands, then add the egg, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, ginger, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cloves, coriander and nutmeg. Mix well with hands to distribute seasoning. Add the parsley, cilantro and scallion, and knead for a minute. The mix may be prepared up to a day in advance and refrigerated.

With your hands, roll mixture into small balls about the size of a quarter. Dust lightly with flour. Heat a quarter-inch of oil in a wide heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Fry meatballs, turning once, until barely browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack set over a tray lined with a double layer of paper towels.

Add the meatballs to the sauce, bring to a simmer over medium heat cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the meatballs are tender. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding salt or cayenne as necessary.

Garnish meatballs with remaining parsley, cilantro and scallion. Serve with couscous or rice. Serves 4 to 6.

(Recipe adapted from One Good Dish by David Tanis)

Notes:

I have made this recipe and formed very small meatballs (about 10 to 11 grams each and about the size of a quarter as Tanis directs) and also in a slightly larger size (about 15 grams each) without any reduction in quality or finesse (although, I prefer the smaller ones). If made into the very small size you will have about 60 meatballs. You will have 40 to 45 in the larger size.
Both the sauce and the meatball mixture can be made a day ahead. Store covered in the refrigerator.
As mentioned in the text, the ratios of this recipe produce a particularly fine meatball. You can use these ratios to improvise your own meatball recipe...or repair a recipe that has nice flavors, but in which the texture of the meatball leaves something to be desired. For every pound of meat, use 1 egg, 1 t. kosher salt, and 1 1/2 cups cubed firm white bread (soaked in milk and squeezed dry).

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As published on forloveofthetable.com