RPI - Lamb: Lamb & Date Meatball Tagine

The Lowdown:

Every now and then something beautiful comes from a mistake. We've all had these moments, and we all love these moments. This meal was one of those moments. It started out as a disaster. Very rarely do I create something that I don't like. I'm not saying I'm a garbarator, but I like most foods and will eat just about anything (other than eggplant and durian). The meatballs.. well, I hate to admit it, but they were lacking something. Perhaps the dates made them too sweet (probably because I was too lazy to chop them up fine enough). Or perhaps it was the lack of spiciness. Either way, they were destined to be doomed. The countdown was on, and their fate was looking rather grim.

Then it came to me. Why not stew them in a tagine? They are all ready Moroccan spiced, so it made perfect sense.With the kick of the cayenne pepper, and the robust flavours of the tagine, the meatballs were much more well-rounded. Fear not; no food was wasted in the making of this blog, and I ate happily every after. Everyone loves a fairytale ending.

If I could change one thing about this, it would have been to remove the tomatoes and substitute them with something else. I'm not quite sure what, but although I enjoyed it, I found it to be a bit too similar to an odd pasta sauce. Oh well, live and learn.

The Playlist:

Meatballs
2 lbs Lamb, ground
1/2 cup Dates, finely chopped
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
1 Egg
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3 tbsp Chickpea flour
1/2 tsp Coriander, ground
1/2 tsp Ginger, ground
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp White pepper
Pepper, to taste

Tagine
2 tbsp Oil or lard
5 Tomatoes, chopped
1 large Onion, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Dried apricots, halved
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
2 tsp Black pepper, fresh ground
2 tbsp Ginger, minced
1 tbsp Turmeric
2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
1 Cinnamon stick
2 tbsp Paprika, Spanish
2 cups Stock (beef or lamb)
1 tbsp Lemon juice

The Skinny:

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. In large mixing bowl: mix all ingredients together until everything is bound together. Roll into 8 - 12 balls, ensuring that they are firmly pressed together.
3. Place on a greased baking sheet and cook for 30-40 minutes.
4. In heavy pot: heat oil over medium-high and saute onions and garlic until translucent. Add tomatoes, cover, and simmer until tomatoes have lost their shape. Add remaining ingredients, turn heat down to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Remove meatbalss from the oven and put the desired amount into the tagine. Cover and allow to simmer for 1 hour.
6. Serve as a stew or with rice.

Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade,