Sunday 27 January 2019

Moroccan Meatballs With Apricots

Who doesn't love a meatball?  Obviously all the vegos and vegans, but apart from them :=)  And this has fruit so it has to be good for you, don't you think?  And best of all, it's baked rather than fried.  Yippee!  Me and frying are not friends.  Or is that frying and I?  As regular readers know, I get hubby to do any necessary frying - on the back deck, and sitting on layers of newspaper!

I discovered on making this recipe that the author had been very circumspect with his flavourings.  Mr P. and I found this somewhat bland so I have upped the spices, etc for more oomph.  Maybe my tastebuds have gone on holidays, but I seem to need/like more oomph in my food these days.  Adjust according to your tastes, my friends.  



just a few meatballs!


Recipe adapted and re-written by Sherry's Pickings: original recipe - 
chef Rob Kelly, as written by Sharnee Rawson

Makes many:-)


ingredients:



1 cup (150g.) cooked couscous - see notes below

750g. beef or lamb mince

2 brown (or red) onions, diced

2 tbs fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp turmeric powder

3-4 tsp cummin powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup (125 mLs) chicken stock, cooled

1 cup (180g.) fresh apricots, diced - you need 3-4 large apricots

3/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped

juice of 1 lemon

1/2-1 tsp sesame seed oil

1½ cups (210g.) sesame seeds


Dressing:


1 cup (250 mLs) Greek yoghurt

1/2 tsp harissa paste or chilli paste of your choice

1 small Lebanese cucumber, finely diced

1 tsp minced ginger (optional)

1 tbs parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp sumac (optional)

1/2 tsp sea salt flakes

about a dozen grinds of black pepper

2-3 tsp lime or lemon juice



Method:


Cook the couscous as per packet instructions - usually add one cup of boiling water to one cup couscous, leave for 5 minutes then fluff up with a fork

Place all the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl, EXCEPT the sesame seeds

Give it a good stir, then use your hands to make large walnut-sized balls

Roll them in the sesame seeds

Bake on a lined baking tray at 190C for about 20 minutes, till cooked through

Stir the dressing ingredients together in a bowl, and serve with the meatballs

Serve with a chopped salad if desired - I used the rest of the couscous with tomato/cucumber/chickpeas/fetta and black olives



Notes:


I made up 1 cup (190g.) of uncooked couscous with 1 cup (250 mLs) boiling water = 2¾ cups cooked couscous

I zapped the onions in my wee food processor - so easy

I had a large piece of ginger, so I threw the whole lot (chopped into large chunks) into my processor, and froze the rest for later



zap or dice your onions 



couscous ready


ready for mixing and shaping


nearly finished the rolling!


dressing ready for stirring 


ready for eating



apricot artwork by Sherry's Pickings

28 comments:

  1. Moroccan food fascinates me. Some day I hope to get there and try it in its native form, but meanwhile I have tried Moroccan restaurants in Ypsilanti Michigan and Avignon France -- an improbable duo of locations.

    I am very fond of the spices that are used in Moroccan foods, especially the mixture called Ras el Hanout. Putting couscous and Harissa in the meatball mixture sounds like a great idea!

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh yes a good ras el hanout is a fabulous thing. I was surprised how bland these were till i added extra flavourings. Thanks for dropping by Cheers sherry x

      Delete
  2. I like more oomph in my food too Sherry. These look just great. If I had fresh apricots I would make these right now as I have all the ingredients. Thanks for sharing this recipe.Cheers, Pauline x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi pauline
      hubby suggests using even more apricots as he said he couldn't taste them! i think they're more of a filler than a flavouring especially with fruit being so tasteless these days- sadly. cheers sherry

      Delete
    2. I wonder if dried apricots -- soaked before using -- would have the same texture effect and more flavor. I assume the moisture in the apricots contributes to the meatballs' overall quality.

      best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

      Delete
    3. i think that's a great idea Mae. The soaking would plump them up and get rid of enough of the sugar to add great flavour. The very firm fruit i had to use didn't have much flavour at all. cheers sherry

      Delete
  3. Hi Sherry. These sound very delicious and easy, especially since Maus rolls the meatballs in our house. 🤣

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi glenda
      great to see you here. yes it took quite some time to roll all these little babies. and i kept running out of sesame seeds and had to frantically hunt around in the pantry for more. i ended up using my furikake instead:) cheers sherry

      Delete
  4. Yum! That sounds delicious Sherry. Love a meatball and always have :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Baked, not fried, and all those spices, these meatballs have a lot going for them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sherry,
    Thanks for visiting my blog. We are fans of Moroccan cooking and these meatballs with the sesame seeds look very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. they were good but just needed a bit of a flavour boost. that's why i upped the spices etc in his recipe. cheers sherry

      Delete
  7. Looks super yummy and good for you - love the addition of chilli :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks Michaela. lovely to see you here! cheers sherry

      Delete
  8. Yes, I love a good meatball but can't get past the apricot. I don't like them basically in any form. I love the couscous on a Monsters Inc plate, BTW.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi fiona
      i love that plate too! brings out the kid in me - not that that's very far away. i reckon you could happily leave the apricots out or substitute with another fruit or maybe just a bit of water-soaked bread. cheers sherry

      Delete
  9. I am fond of everything Moroccan and these sound delicious. It's almost like a tagine in a meatball, fruit and lamb is a winner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi liz
      strangely for aussies, hubby and i don't like lamb so i used beef:) that whole roast lamb thing never appealed to either of us here....

      Delete
  10. Wow, interesting recipe. Like the idea of using couscous in the meatballs -- havne't seen that before. This looks incredibly flavorful -- thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks KR for stopping by. I made so many we had them the next two nights! Very effective:)

      Delete
  11. Now this is fabulous. Lamb and apricots together are so lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. so i hear:) not being a lamb fan, i had to make this with beef- but still delicious... thanks for dropping by.

      Delete
  12. Fascinating recipe! Love all the flavors - especially the apricot! Definitely a must try!

    ReplyDelete
  13. So glad to find you :-) Will be back definitely !

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear from you. Please leave your comment and I will reply as soon as I can. If you have problems commenting, please try without your WordPress profile. You can try Anonymous (add your name in the text) or your Google account if you have one.