North African Boulettes

I came across this recipe on Mmm...Cafe and had to try it out. I never would have thought to combine these flavors together but the resluts were delish! My entire family loved them, even my picky 7yr old! I will be making this recipe again and again. Yumm...

North African Boulettes From: Mmm...Cafe

Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 small onion, diced

2 tsp. garlic, chopped

1 lemon, zested

1/2 cup white wine ( I used chicken broth)

1/4 cup chicken stock or broth

1 (14-ounce) can diced or stewed tomatoes, blended

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

To make the sauce, in a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic until soft but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest and white wine, deglaze the pan, and let it reduce for a 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, canned tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon. Simmer to blend flavors, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meatballs:

1 egg

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup finely ground rolled oats

Salt and ground black pepper

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, for cooking

2 cups cooked couscous ( I made extra)

To make the meatballs mix the egg and tomato paste and stir until smooth. Add the cilantro, ginger, cumin, and cinnamon and mix until well blended. Stir in the ground beef and oats, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and combine gently after each addition. Do not overmix. Rolling with your hands into very tight circles, make about 32 meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter.

In a large saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat, and brown the meatballs in batches until golden on all sides. Add more oil, as needed. Transfer the meatballs to the pan with the sauce and let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over Couscous.

Serves 4-6.