Yield: about 4 dozen meatballs

Description:

This month, I share my recipe for Moroccan Lamb Meatballs (Kefte), which may also be made from ground beef or even ground turkey. One of my favorite dishes out of all my trips to Morocco were the kefte in tomato sauce topped with an egg and baked in a workaday terracotta tajine at a simple roadside restaurant frequented by truck drivers.

I like to add bulgur wheat, a specialty of the Eastern Mediterranean, for lightness and nutty flavor. For those who prefer not to eat wheat products, substitute cooked brown rice (about ¼ cup raw).

Ingredients (Meatballs):

• 1 cup bulgur wheat, soaked in boiling water to cover by about 1 inch
• 2 ½ pounds ground lamb
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes or Turkish maras pepper
• 1 tablespoon ras el hanout
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 medium red onion, finely diced
• ½ bunch parsley, chopped
• ¼ bunch cilantro, chopped
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• Blended oil

Ingredients (Sauce):

• ¼ cup EVOO
• 1 medium red onion, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped ginger
• 1 tablespoon ras el hanout
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 box Pomi chopped tomatoes, or 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• ½ bunch parsley, chopped
• ¼ bunch cilantro, chopped