Moroccan Lamb Meatballs

The flavours of North Africa have always held a sort of magic for me. They seem exotic and exciting, the aromatic spicing the mix of sweet and savoury. These Moroccan Lamb Meatballs I am certain are not authentic as to how they would be made in Morocco. However, this is how I make them when I feel the need for culinary escape from my London flat. They conjure up the mystique of Morocco to my kitchen.

There is something about making meatballs, or anything I can get my hands involved in, that brings me more joy. It makes me feel more connected to my food and also to anyone I happen to be feeding. This is such a simple recipe as you put the ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. I love using my hands but you could easily use a wooden spoon to mix this as well, if you’d rather use a utensil. 

The yield you get from this mix is entirely dependant on how large or small you make the meatballs. I prefer to go for a meatball that is similar to ping pong ball. I find they don’t dry out and keep nice and moist. Sometimes the smaller ones can over cook quickly. But this is your meal you do what you like. The same goes for the cooking method, these can be pan fried, baked in an oven, done on a griddle pan. There are many options and it may depend on how large you pans are or how quickly you need to eat. 

Now the question: what do you serve these with? These Moroccan Lamb Meatballs are actually incredibly versatile. I have served them with a rocket and coriander salad using the fresh coriander as a salad ingredient with some hummus roasted red peppers and pomegranate seeds this is lovely. Another way is with a spiced tomato sauce, with some chickpeas and a bed of couscous. Or, as in the pictures on this post, stuffed into a warm pitta bread with rocket, harissa mayonnaise and scattered with pomegranate seeds, chopped fresh coriander and some smashed almonds (pistachios would work brilliantly too). I find these Meatballs are great to eat hot or cold so make them the perfect picnic food. They are also completely family friendly being not heavily spiced that fussy eaters will love these I’m sure. 

The spices I use in these meatballs are cumin, cinnamon & nigella seeds. These create the scents of Moroccan cuisine. I love the oniony pop of the nigella seeds so I am very generous with these. These are sometimes referred to as black seed. They have been used in Africa, the Middle East and India for years – why even the Romans were eating them.

The pairing of fruit with meat is certainly not exclusively North African. Think of duck with cherries, or lemon chicken or turkey with cranberries. All are high on my ‘Saturday Kitchen Heaven List’. In fact my food heaven list is far longer than my food hell list. I know that some people are put off by the combination of fruit with meat. You could easily omit the dried apricots in this recipe. I maybe would add some softened onion to help with the juiciness of these meatballs. 

Personally I love lamb with these spices but if you wanted to do these with another meat do so by all means. Chicken and Turkey would both work as would beef or venison. Cooking them the beef and venison can take being pan-fried, oven baked or griddled. If you are using chicken or turkey then I suggest pan-frying. You can bake them but I suggest drizzling with some oil to stop them drying out.

I love these Moroccan Lamb Meatballs and they are so easy to make. Let me know how you ate them, was it stuffed inside a pitta or smothered in a sauce. These would be fantastic with my Carrot & Orange Hummus Recipe as part of a party platter or picnic. Share your pictures with me on Instagram @cubbinthekitchen or #CUBBintheKitchen for a chance to be featured in my stories.

Moroccan Lamb Meatballs

A glorious lunch that will please a crowd

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Prep Time 18 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 28 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Moroccan

Servings 4

Calories 419 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 500 grams Lamb Mince
• 50 grams Dried Apricots About 5-6 Apricots
• 1 Egg
• 1.5 tsp Nigella Seeds
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 25 grams Breadcrumbs
• Pinch Salt

Instructions

 

• Lightly beat the egg.

  Chop the dried apricots into small pieces.
• In a large bowl put the Lamb Mince, Breadcrumbs, Nigella Seeds, Cumin, Cinnamon, Honey, Chopped Dried Apricots and a pinch of salt

  Add the beaten Egg and mix to combine.(Either with your hands or a wooden spoon)When it is completely combined and the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the meaty mixture you may stop.
• Take a small amount of mixture in your hands and roll into a ball shape and place on a tray.(I get 16 golf ball sized meatballs out of this mix by eye or I use a heaped tablespoon and get about 24 smaller meatballs)
• Heat a frying pan over a medium heat.

  Add some oil to your hot pan and swirl to coat.
• Place your meatballs in the pan and fry turning to brown evenly. They should be cooked through in 8 -10 minutes.(You can do these in batches if you need to)
• To serve mix 5 tbsp mayonnaise with 1 head tsp Harissa, warm pittas and stuff with rocket, harissa mayo, meatballs, chopped fresh coriander, smashed almonds and pomegranate seeds.

Notes

LEFTOVERS TIP

Leftover meatballs work brilliantly on flat breads to make a Moroccan style pizza. Have them in a salad or in lettuce cups for a healthier meal.
I Love putting meatballs in a dish with chopped tomatoes, drained chickpeas, chopped orange pepper & sliced courgette and baking in the oven to create a Moroccan casserole.

Keyword Cinnamon, Cumin, Flatbread, Hand Food, Lamb, Mediterranean, Moroccan, Party, Party Food, Pita