Middle-Eastern Lamb Meatballs

These lamb meatballs are bursting with mouthwatering flavor! They’re very different than the Italian-style meatballs my Midwestern mother made while I was growing up, but they have quickly become a favourite addition to my meatball repertoire and make a great Shabbat dish.

I purchase the Never Any hormone-free ground lamb at ALDIs and love that the whole meal costs less than $5 a serving.

These are seasoned with sweet and spicy herbs and cooked in a tomato-paste broth, topped off with delicious, fresh mint and cooked apricots. Not your mother’s typical meatballs… unless your mother is Middle-Eastern 🙂

If you make them, let me know what you think in the comments below!

For the meatballs:

• 1 lb ground lamb or a mix of 1/2 pound beef and 1/2 pound lamb
• 1 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 slices of challah bread, crusts removed, soaked in water or 1/2 C. bread crumbs

For the sauce:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp white pepper
• 1 water, at room temperature
• 1/2 C. chicken or vegetable broth
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 cup (4 oz.) unsweetened dried apricots
• cooked rice, for serving

Instructions

1. Put ground beef, parsley, onion, cumin, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Squeeze water out of the bread, add to the beef and mix with your hands for a couple of minutes. Shape the mixture into 1½-inch meatballs and arrange on a tray. Set aside.
2. Use a skillet or a pot that is wide enough to hold all the meatballs in one layer, if possible. Put the skillet on medium-high heat, add olive oil, and when oil is hot, add onion and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, mint, cardamom, sugar, salt and white pepper, mix and cook for another minute. Add water, lemon juice and paprika and bring to boil, then reduce the heat and cook on low simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and sugar to taste.
3. Add meatballs to the skillet and spoon sauce over them. Scatter the apricots between the meatballs. Bring back to a boil on medium-high heat, then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Gently flip the meatballs and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
4. Serve over rice.