Moroccan Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

You can make this fabulous meatball dish with either ground beef or ground lamb. It is wonderful either way. I happen to love lamb and this meatball recipe that I made about one month ago with ground lamb turned out amazing. I typically use only grass feed ground beef or chuck for my meatballs but from now on I will use only lamb.

*This recipe uses one of the tagine spice blends - I recommend having on-hand in your pantry. (please visit pantry page)

There are many wonderful"tagine" spice blends available today. Most have a blend of spices not used everyday. I used to buy individual tagine spices but would end up throwing out the bottles after they became too stale. I now use a good tagine blend. Most tagine blends contain a combination of what I like to call "exotic" spices i.e. cumin, turmeric, fennel seeds, cardamon, paprika, ginger, coriander seeds, etc. For this recipe - I highly recommend a good tagine blend.

Preheat Oven to 300 degrees

Ingredients: Meatballs

2 lbs of Grass-Fed ground beef or ground lamb (Australian is best)

1/2 cup dry Panko crumbs (plain)

1/4 cup dried currents (you can use raisins - cut them into small pieces)

1 small yellow onion chopped

2 pinches of cinnamon

1 pinch of dried oregano

1 good pinch of salt

1 tsp of "tagine" spice blend

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 egg beaten

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Directions for Meatballs:

Mix all ingredients together, with 1 Tbsp of olive oil and allow your meat mix to rest for 30 minutes. I like to use the 30 minute rest time to make the tomato sauce.

When ready form your meat mix into medium/large sized meatballs.

To cook: heat another 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil and add half of the prepared meatballs into a dutch oven. Be careful to not crowd. Leave a little room between the meatballs.

(A dutch oven works best - I prefer cast iron - because this dish goes from the stove top right into the oven for 2-3 hours. You will not have burning issues on the bottom).

On medium heat - lightly saute meatballs gently for 2-3 minutes - turning once. You want a nice brown color but not too hard a crust. Remove first round of cooked meatballs and set aside. Repeat with 1 more Tbsp olive oil and place the balance of meatballs. Remove the meatballs when done and set aside.

Ingredients & Directions for Tomato Sauce:

2 Jars of Garlic Tomato/Marinara Sauce (any brand you like)

1/4 cup or 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste

1 medium size yellow onion

1 garlic clove (minced)

Zest of one orange

Pinch of sugar (I like sugar in the raw)

1 tsp Black Pepper

1/2 Tbsp of "tagine" spice - or leave out and use a 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes.

In the same dutch oven add more olive oil and the onions. Saute for approx 3-5 minutes then add your minced garlic, the tagine spice blend (or red pepper flakes), orange zest, sugar, salt, black pepper and cook 2 minutes more.

Add next the Marinara Sauce and tomato paste - heat sauce until it begins to boil.

Place all meatballs back into the tomato sauce and cover dutch oven with a lid. Turn off stove-top and place into your oven.

Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours. I normally will reduce heat to 250 degrees and cook for 30 minutes more. Baking this meal in a dutch oven - you are guaranteed to have tender juicy delicious meatballs and a delicious tomato sauce.

Serving Ideas: I have served these meatballs with Creamy Polenta or you could serve along side a nice Couscous, Basmati rice or pasta....even mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!