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North African Meatballs Over Couscous

North African meatballs Over Couscous from UnrulyBliss.com

I love, love, love finding new recipes that I secretly worry I’ll hate but then turn out to devour!    I mean I savored every morsel of this meal, but I definitely devoured a big ‘ol bowl of these meatballs over some yummy spiced couscous.  They were soooooo delicious!  I’ve never had any kind of North African cuisine before and the spices and flavors of this dish were just absolutely wonderful!  The recipe comes from Lisa of LisaLovesGoodFood.com which she adapted from Melissa D’Arabian of the Food Network.  I love that she subbed turkey in for the meatballs and lightened the dish up a bit.  I can’t wait to make this again and I wouldn’t change a thing!

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North African Meatballs Over Couscous

Yield 4-6 servings

Recipe from LisaLovesGoodFood.com, adapted from Melissa D'Arabian on FoodNetwork.com.

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
  • 2 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 pound lean ground turkey

For the Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons capers, drained
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock or broth
  • 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
  • 14 ounce can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • juice of the lemon that was zested
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Meatballs:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375.  Line a cookie sheet with foil and brush it with a little oil.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients except for the bread crumbs and turkey, and mix until smooth.
  3. Using a wooden spoon, gently stir in the bread crumbs and turkey until all of the ingredients are evenly combined.
  4. Rolling with your hands, make about 24 meatballs, each one about 1-inch in diameter.
  5. Place the meatballs on the cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, until they are no longer pink inside.  {Start the sauce while the meatballs are baking.}

For the Sauce:

  1. In a large skillet or saucepan, add the olive oil and onion and saute over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the garlic, capers, red pepper, and lemon zest.  Cook it all for 1-2 minutes, stirring often to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn.
  3. Add the wine and let it reduce by about half, about 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. When the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce and simmer again over low heat, for about 15-20 minutes.
  6. Serve the meatballs and sauce over couscous.

North African Meatballs Over Couscous from UnrulyBliss.com

 

North African Meatballs Over Couscous from UnrulyBliss.com