North African meatballs with couscous

Submitted by enr on 04 Jun 2013
Ingredients
# For the sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small onion
2 cloves garlic
rind of 1 lemon
1/2 cup chopped savory olives
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
400 g tomatoes, crushed or diced
1 tsp sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, salt and pepper
# For the meatballs:
egg 1
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp finely chopped Coriander
1 tbsp ginger, 1 tsp cumin, a pinch of cinnamon, salt and pepper
400 g beef
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
3-4 tbsp sunflower oil
4 tbsp chopped parsley
# For cous-Kusa:
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped dried dates
1 cup couscous
salt and pepper
North African meatballs with couscous
Photo added on
Photo author
gkostova04
Method
Preparation of sauce: Olive oil is heated over medium heat and sauté it in the finely chopped onion and garlic until soft, but not browning (about 3 minutes). Add lemon zest and olives and cook for another minute. Add white wine and cook on low heat for another 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth, canned tomatoes, sugar, cayenne pepper and cinnamon and let simmer to blend flavors, about 7 minutes. Thus prepared sauce is seasoned with salt and pepper. Making meatballs: In a medium bowl confused egg and tomato puree until a smooth mixture. Add coriander, ginger, cumin and cinnamon and mix well. Add minced meat, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly after each addition. The mixture should not be confused too much to not become quite homogeneous. Form is about 32 meatballs. meatballs fry lightly in a large pan with 3 tbsp sunflower oil, until browned on all sides. If necessary, add more sunflower oil. Transfer meatballs to the pan with the sauce and simmer 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and served on cous-Kusa with dried dates. Preparation of cous-Kusa: 1 cup water, broth and olive oil is put on the stove to boil. Add dates and cous-Kusa. Pan cover with a lid and remove from heat. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Kus-Kusa is transferred in a bowl and pour the sauce and meatballs. * The dish is very fragrant.
Containers:
Difficulty
Very difficult
Tested
0 users
04 Jun 2013
Author
gkostova04
Source
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/north-african-meatballs-recipe/index.html

Comments

Wonderful recipe as everything from magrebinskata kitchen! Jump feel their fragrance :) Only a very important clarification missing: couscous is a real couscous, not pasta balls which BG says couscous.

Many thanks for the nice comment and clarification!