Michael’s Quick, Easy and Delish Dish for the Weekend

By Michael Minorgan for Curtains Up    michael@yahoo.ca

Moroccan Meatballs

The land of the Kasbah and Casablanca offers up a cornucopia of delicious and exotic foods with heavy influences from the Moors and Berbers of northern Africa. This boldly flavoured cuisine has been refined over centuries in the royal kitchens of Fes, Rabat and Marrakech. Most Moroccan food is heavily spiced with the exotic spices of this region, namely, to name just a few, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, sweet paprika and saffron.(1) Many dishes also contain an assortment of dried fruits also common to the area.

Let your imagination flow and visualize yourself, if just for a weekend, relaxing in one of Morocco’s many fables Kasbahs enjoying this dish of delicious meatballs on top of some light and fluffy couscous creation. I can vouch for its authenticity….Enjoy!

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup dried currants
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground lamb
• 1 large egg white

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• Remaining ingredients:
• 3 cups hot cooked couscous
• Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

 Preparation

1. 1. To prepare meatballs, combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl; shape meat mixture into 30 meatballs. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of meatballs to pan; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Place browned meatballs in an electric slow cooker. Repeat procedure with remaining 15 meatballs.
2. 2. To prepare sauce, combine tomato paste and next 7 ingredients (through tomatoes). Add to slow cooker, stirring gently to coat. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours. Serve over couscous. Garnish with parsley, if desired.