Saturday, April 14, 2012

Moroccan Lamb Meatball Tagine and Ras El Hanout



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Over the next few weeks I'll be featuring a series of recipes for Moroccan-style entrees. Our original travel plans for the year included an extended trip to North Africa. That, of course, meant lots of time would be spent in Morocco, becoming familiar with its history and culture and sampling the cuisine for which it is so justly famous. Fate is fickle. Just before we contractually committed to that adventure, we were notified that spots had open on an Amazon trip that the Silver Fox, who, by the way,  will be home from the hospital on Monday,  has wanted to take for years. So, guess who will be trekking in Brazil and Peru rather than touring in Spain and Morocco. I'm thrilled, but in anticipation of the original trip, I had been collecting and testing recipes for Moroccan food. This wonderful tagine is one of them. The recipe was developed by Kerry Saretsh who writes a weekly feature for Serious Eats. The dish is very easy to make, but it does use some spices that may be difficult to find in your neighborhood grocery store. Piment d'Espelette is a Basque chili pepper that has a unique flavor. For those of you who don't have  time to search it out, Hungarian hot paprika or New Mexico red chili powder can be used as substitutes. Ras el hanout is a Moroccan spice blend that's made with more than 30 individual spices. It, too, can be difficult to find. I make a reasonable facsimile  and have included a recipe for it  following the instructions for the tagine.  These meatballs and the sauce in which they cook are  wonderful and I do hope you will try this stellar tagine.  It has become a favorite of mine. Now, all I have to do is figure out what they eat in Peru. I have a friend, now enrolled in a remedial PC program, who suggested conquistadors. Life is never boring in these climes.


Moroccan Lamb Meatball Tagine
...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Kerry Saretsky via Serious Easts.com

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 egg (beat one whole egg and use half)
1 shallot, finely minced (about 2 tablespoons), and 4 shallots, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint, plus 10 leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus 1/4 cup, roughly chopped
3 teaspoons ras el hanout, divided
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon piment d’Espelette or hot paprika or New Mexico red chili powder
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 pound ground lamb
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced on a bias (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained
1-1/2 cups canned or homemade low-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons golden raisins

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together breadcrumbs and milk until the milk is absorbed into bread. Add egg. Add 1 shallot, finely minced, 1 tablespoon chopped mint, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, 1-1/2 teaspoons ras el hanout, the piment d’Espelette, and season with salt and pepper. I used a teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir together until combined. Add lamb, and gently toss together until evenly mixed. Divide mixture into 8 meatballs. Place flour in a shallow pan. Roll meatballs in flour, patting off excess flour. Reserve any remaining flour.
2) In a saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium to medium-high heat until oil shimmers. Place floured meatballs into hot oil and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Set meatballs aside, and lower heat. Add shallots, season with salt and pepper, and sauté on medium-low until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and carrot, and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add reserved flour, and toss to coat vegetables with flour. Add tomato paste, drained tomatoes, beef broth, raisins and remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons of ras el hanout. Stir to combine, breaking up whole tomatoes with a fork or back of a spoon. Bring liquid to a boil.
3) Add meatballs back into stew, and top with remaining mint, cilantro, and olive oil. Cover pot with a lid and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Place a lid on the pot, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. After half an hour, remove pot from oven and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until sauce is very thick, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately with couscous tossed in Meyer lemon olive oil, or just serve with baguette. Yield: 4 servings.

Ras el Hanout

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cardamon
2 teaspoons ground mace
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground anise seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:
Blend all of the spices in a bowl. Transfer to a glass jar, and store in a dry, dark place. Will keep several months.






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25 comments :

Sue/the view from great island said...

Oh my gosh, Mary, this is amazing. I would have been thrilled with the spice mix alone.
So glad Bob gets home Monday!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

The tide has turned but it is certainly wonderful to explore this cuisine dish by dish. I am looking forward to travelling to Sicily where they have African influences in their cuisine.

Rita said...

This looks wonderful; love the idea of having raisins in the mixture.
Rita

Kim said...

I like this dish Mary! It's so full of flavor! Yummy! Have a nice week-end!

From the Kitchen said...

i missed that the silver fox was in hospital. hope all well. fractured wrist here. will be visiting but not posting.

b
b

Anonymous said...

wow, spicey, yummy, delicous!

Susan Lindquist said...

What a wonderful dish! I have been learning a bit here and there about tagine and other claypot cooking techniques. These meatballs look just wonderful! The spices alone make for such a unique take on meatballs and sauce!

Wonderful news that your Silver Fox is returning home!

raquel@eRecipe.com said...

wow I love taste that Moroccan Lamb meatball, it is surely delicious, I love to try this Sunday and I wanna hear from family how delicious it is.

Karen (Back Road Journal) said...

So happy to hear that the Silver Fox is doing well and that he is going to fulfill a wish. Your trip will be exciting! I love the flavors of Moroccan food and the lamb tagine sounds great.

kitchen flavours said...

This looks delicious and sounds wonderful with all the spices!

Gerlinde in Washington said...

Your dish looks delicious. I love Moroccan flavours.

A visit to the jungle sounds wonderful to me.. a completely different adventure than you planned, but equally amazing.. wishing you a great trip!

Ginny Hartzler said...

When are you leaving and how long will you be gone? Exciting, but I'm sorry you didn't get to chose. Maybe next time.

Priya Suresh said...

Wish i live near u..super delicious dish..

Diane said...

That looks fantastic and reading down the recipe I know we would just love it. Yum yum. Keep well Diane

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

Hope the Silver Fox is on the mend. Eating all your delicious food will help.

Dave and our oldest made a trip to Morocco a few years ago and loved it.

Salsa Verde said...

Delicious and stunning recipe Mary. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers and hope you have a fantastic weekend,
Lia.

Big Dude said...

This sounds outstanding Mary. We were in Tangiers for a day several years ago and it was a very unique experience.

Buttercup said...

This looks great. I often make a chicken tagine that is terrific. I missed a scheduled trip to Morocco last year when the state of the world was in flux and was so disappointed. Look forward to hearing about your South American trip.

Joanne said...

Moroccan flavors are my favorite so I'm really excited to see the recipes you're going to share! This tagine sounds so tasty. I love ras el hanout.

Dining Alone said...

I love Moroccan flavors! I have not cooked a lot with lamb but this looks like a nice way to try it again.

love cooking said...

I love this very much, lamb and spices are always match well. And serve this with pasta, yummy… :)

Lisa said...

Well, this was delicious! Just finished our meal, huge success.

Lisa said...

Sorry to post twice but I just have to say, my three year old also gobbled this down, and I am just so pleased as she is quite picky! Thanks for the great recipe.

Shiela Ellen Pardee said...

This was delicious. With all the spices, I was concerned that the flavor would be harsh or overwhelming, but it wasn't. Just deeply, distinctively delicious. I made up the spice mix and will definitely use it again.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Shiela, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the tagine. It is a favorite of mine.

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