Moroccan Lamb Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Moroccan Lamb Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce are easy but delicious. Similar in flavour to traditional Moroccan tagines but cooked in a fraction of the time.

Juicy, browned lamb meatballs flavoured with a Moroccan-inspired spice mix nestled in a rich tomato sauce imbued with the same warmly spicy blend. I love it as a main course with couscous and spiced roasted veg, topped with yogurt. But it also works great as one of a range of little dishes to share, meze-style.

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The first thing to say is that, despite the moniker of Moroccan, I make no claims of authenticity for the lovely, easy recipe I’m sharing today. I don’t have a Moroccan bone in my body (as far as I know) and have never set foot there. But I love the food of this part of the world.

My favourite food writer is Claudia Roden. She was a pioneer in 1960s Britain, popularising food from the Mediterranean, North Africa, and Middle East.

Several recipes on this blog are inspired by what I’ve learned from reading her work over many years. And that’s the case with my Moroccan Lamb Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce.

While I love a slow-cooked, spicy meat tagine (stews named after the conical-shaped pot they’re traditionally cooked in), sometimes I want dinner a little quicker. Luckily, I’ve discovered that using minced lamb made into meatballs, browned, then finished in a spicy tomato sauce has all the flavour but is ready in less than an hour.

MOROCCAN-INSPIRED SPICE BLEND

In her fascinating and beautiful book Arabesque, covering the cuisines of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon, Roden talks about the Moroccan use of spices. She says saffron, ginger and cinnamon are found in tagines, while spice mixtures for minced meat include coriander, cumin, mace, allspice, paprika and chilli.

Some Moroccan meat dishes also contain sugar or honey. To these, generous amounts of black pepper are added for balance.

For my Moroccan Lamb Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce, I use my own blend of ground spices. This is used to flavour the meatballs as well as the tomato sauce they’ll be cooked in.

It contains: cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, paprika, turmeric, allspice, and Aleppo red pepper flakes. If you want a hot spice mix, replace the Aleppo pepper with chilli flakes. But personally, I prefer a gentle, warm spicing for this dish.

To keep costs down, I’ve used turmeric, known as poor man’s saffron, instead of the more traditional saffron. Although it does add some yellow colour, the taste is completely different. If you want the saffron taste then you can add a few strands (soaked in warm water) to the sauce.

EASY MORROCAN LAMB MEATBALLS

Although I refer to lamb here and in the detailed recipe card at the end, I made these meatballs with minced mutton. Either works, but I like the extra flavour that the meat from older sheep has.

I add one third of the spices to the minced meat, plus salt and black pepper. Then I just work it in with my hands and roll into smooth balls. Making them about the size of a walnut, you should get 16 meatballs from 400 grams of meat.

Next, we quickly brown the balls in a little olive oil over a moderately high heat. They don’t need to be completely cooked through as they’ll be finished in the spicy tomato sauce. Don’t crowd the pan or the meatballs won’t get that delectably crusty exterior. Brown them in batches if you need to.

You then set the meatballs aside and get started on the sauce.

SPICY TOMATO SAUCE

I make the sauce in the same pan I browned the meatballs in so none of that flavour is lost. As lamb and mutton usually contains a decent amount of fat, it’s unlikely you’ll need to add any extra oil for the next stage.

A big, chopped onion and half a dozen cloves of finely chopped garlic go in first. I slowly fry these over a lowish heat, bringing out the onion’s natural sweetness. When it’s softening and lightly coloured, the remaining two thirds of the spices are added.

After a couple of minutes stirring, a tin of chopped tomatoes, a tablespoon of tomato puree, and water are added. I swish the water around the empty tin to get every bit of tomato out.

As we’ve seen, it’s traditional to sweeten some Moroccan meat dishes. To balance the spices, and the acidity of the tomatoes, I think it’s important in this recipe. I’m quite the fan of pomegranate molasses with its sour undertones, but honey or ordinary sugar are both fine.

The spicy tomato sauce is then simmered for around ten minutes, without a lid so it starts to reduce.

ADD THE MEATBALLS & SIMMER

Next, the browned meatballs are added to the sauce. With a lid on this time, we simmer everything for another ten minutes. This will finish cooking the meatballs while adding even more flavour to the spicy tomato sauce.

When the time is up, you can simmer with the lid off if you want to reduce the sauce a little more. Don’t cook for too long though: you don’t want the meatballs to get overdone and dry out.

The only thing left to do then is check the seasoning of the sauce and stir in some chopped coriander for freshness.

SERVING MORROCAN LAMB MEATBALLS IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE

I love this warmly spicy dish as a main course served over couscous with peas and roasted vegetables.

For the meal you see in this post I tossed butternut squash, sweet peppers, and red onion in a little extra spice mix then roasted in olive oil.

I combined the charred veg with couscous, cooked peas, and soaked raisins. All this can be done in advance and the mix pinged in the microwave just before serving. If you want some crunch, add a few toasted pine nuts too.

I think creamy, thick yogurt is always a winner with spicy foods so top my Moroccan Lamb Meatballs with a good dollop. A final flourish of fresh herb (coriander or mint) and a bright sprinkle of Aleppo red pepper flakes and it’s ready to dig into.

If you prefer, make the meatballs smaller and serve with a range of other little dishes to share and eat meze-style. Try them alongside:

Aubergine & Beetroot Moutabal

Marinated Roasted Peppers

Artichoke Spread with Garlic, Lemon & Mint

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Quick Flatbreads

Socca: chickpea flour flatbread

For just a little effort you’ll have the spicy, rich flavours of a tagine, cooked in a fraction of the time thanks to minced lamb instead of chunks.

If you’ve tried these juicy, browned meatballs in their warmly spicy sauce I’d love to hear what you thought.

Please leave a comment and don’t forget to rate the recipe.

5 from 3 votes

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Moroccan Lamb Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

With a Moroccan-inspired spice mix this easy but delicious dish has similar flavours to a traditional lamb tagine but is cooked in a fraction of the time.

Serve as a main course with couscous and roast vegetables or as one of a number of smaller dishes, meze-style.

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Starter

Cuisine Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, North African, Moroccan

Keyword meat, lamb mince, mince, spicy

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 2 - 4

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

Spice Mix (see Recipe Note #1)

• 3 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp Aleppo red pepper flakes or hot chilli flakes

For the meatballs

• 400 g minced lamb or mutton
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the tomato sauce

• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 400 g chopped tinned tomatoes
• 200 ml water
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 - 2 tsp sweetener e.g. pomegranate molasses, honey, sugar
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander

To serve (optional)

• plain yogurt
• Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes
• chopped coriander or mint

Instructions

1. In a small container, stir together all the spices for the Spice Mix and set aside.

2. Put the lamb or mutton mince into a bowl and add ONE THIRD of the spice mix plus the salt and pepper.

   Using your hands, thoroughly mix the seasoning through the meat then roll into 16 smooth, walnut-sized balls.

   Heat the oil in a large frying pan until medium-hot. Put the meatballs in the pan and quickly cook until browned all over: do this in batches if necessary and transfer to a plate when browned.

3. Reduce the heat under the frying pan to medium-low.

   Stir the chopped onions and garlic into the oil and cooking juices left in the pan, season sparingly with salt plus a generous grind of black pepper and cook until starting to soften and brown (10-12 min).

   Stir in the remaining two thirds of the spice mix and cook for 2 minutes.

   Add the tinned tomatoes to the pan plus the water (swish the water around the empty tin first to get all the tomato out) and tomato puree.

   Stir in the sweetener and season with salt and pepper.

   Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes without a lid.

4. After 10 minutes, stir the browned meatballs through the sauce.

   Put on a lid and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through. If the sauce needs reducing further you can simmer with the lid off for a few minutes, but don't overcook or the meatballs could go dry.

5. Take off the heat, taste to check that the seasoning is correct, then stir in the chopped coriander.

   Serve with the optional yogurt, sprinkled with Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes, and more chopped coriander or mint.

   Try it with couscous tossed with peas, soaked raisins and vegetables (e.g. peppers, red onion, squash or sweet potato) that have been seasoned with extra Spice Mix and roasted.

Recipe Notes

Note #1 A pinch of saffron threads, soaked for a few minutes in a little warm water, can be added to the dish at the same time as the tomatoes.

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