Iraqi Apricot Meatballs
Ever since I made this dish, I have been singing its praises to whoever will listen. The sauce is so flavourful, the meatballs tender, and the apricots and mint really just top it off.
The original recipe calls for 1 hr cooking time including prep, but the meatballs can be made a few hours ahead, or overnight if needed.
-Mod Asher
Type: meal, meat, kosher
Estimated cooking time: 45 mins (incl prep)
Ingredients:
Meatballs
1 lb/450g - 500g ground beef, lamb, or a mixture of the two.
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 slices of bread (like challah or ciabatta), crusts removed, soaked in water - I don't recommend using sandwich or toast bread, as it's too soft.
Sauce
¼ cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
¼ cup tomato paste
1 Tbsp dried mint or ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
¼ tsp ground cardamom
1 Tbsp sugar - if using sweetened apricots, reduce sugar to 2tsp.
1 ½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp white pepper
1 ½ cup water, at room temperature
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp paprika
1 cup (4 oz.) unsweetened dried apricots
¼ cup golden raisins (optional)
cooked rice, for serving
Utensils + Tools:
small and medium bowls
large skillet or saucepan
Large spoon
Knife
Instructions:
To make the meatballs, put ground meat, parsley, onion, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Squeeze the water out of the bread, add to the beef and mix with your hands. Shape into 1½-inch/3.8cm meatballs and set aside on a tray or plate.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or pot on medium-high heat, then add onion and saute until golden, around 6 mins. Add tomato paste, mint, cardamom, sugar, salt and white pepper, stir and cook for another minute.
Add water, lemon juice and paprika and bring to boil, then reduce heat and cook on low simmer for 5 mins. Taste the sauce and adjust salt and sugar if needed.
Add meatballs to the skillet and spoon sauce over them. Scatter the apricots and raisins between the meatballs. Bring back to a boil on medium-high heat, then reduce heat to a low simmer (sauce should be forming small bubbles), cover and cook for 15 minutes. Gently flip the meatballs and cook for another 15 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
Serve with cooked rice.
CREDIT
The Nosher
