Moroccan Meatball and Lentil Bake With Company! Recipe #211519
A lightly spiced & fruity North African inspired dish with a tasty vegetable accompaniment or company as the title says! Made with easily available ingredients & it is also very adaptable. This recipe is a complete meal, but you could if you wish, serve it alongside steamed rice or couscous. Flatbreads would also be ideal, especially for mopping up all the lentils & spicy juices.
by French Tart
2 hours | 1 hour prep
SERVES 6 -8
MEATBALLS
- 2 lbs minced beef
- 1 garlic clove, peeled & crushed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 large white onion, peeled & finely diced
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 ounces flour
- salt & pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
LENTILS
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, peeled & crushed
- 1 white onion, peeled & diced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 ounces split red lentils or puy lentils
- 16 ounces chopped tomatoes
- 1 pint vegetable stock
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 8 ounces no-soak whole dried apricots
- 1 lb cherry tomatoes, on the vine
CARAMELISED VEGETABLE ACCOMPANIMENT
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 fennel bulbs, sliced, keep the fronds
- 2 white onions, peeled & quartered
- 4 carrots, peeled & cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 ounces brown sugar
- 3 fluid ounces vegetable stock
- 1 orange, juice and zest of, grated
- salt & pepper
- fennel bulb, green fronds from
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed (optional)
- Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
- MEATBALLS:.
- Mix the garlic, cumin, coriander and cinnamon, salt & pepper together.
- Break up any lumps in the minced beef and add the spices, finely diced onion and the beaten egg.
- Mix together well, using your hands.
- Shape into balls the size of a walnut - you should get about 32 to 36 meatballs.
- Roll them into the flour and heat up the olive oil in a large frying pan.
- Fry them in batches - do not overcrowd the pan - fry until golden brown, are firm & keeping their shape.
- Put the meatballs to one side.
- LENTILS:.
- Heat up the olive oil in the same frying pan as the meatballs were cooked inches.
- Fry the garlic and onion over a low heat until translucent & golden but not brown.
- Add the spices and then the lentils and stir them around to get a good coating of the oil.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, vegetable stock, cinnamon stick & the dried apricots.
- Give them all a good stir and cook over a low heat for about 2 minutes.
- Pour the lentils into a large ovenproof dish and place the meatballs on top. Scatter the cherry tomatoes around the meatballs.(They look good if kept on the vine).
- Cover and cook for about 1 hr, or until the sauce has thickened.
- Take the cover off for the last 10-15 minutes and allow the meatballs & cherry tomatoes to brown.
- Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.
- Whilst the meatball & lentil bake is cooking, prepare and cook the vegetable accompaniment.
- Take a large wok and heat up the olive oil.
- Add the fennel bulb, onions & carrots and stir well.
- Add the brown sugar, stir well & turn up the heat. Cook the vegetables until they are tinged brown on the edges and the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Turn the heat down and add the vegetable stock, cover the wok and cook for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but still holding their shape.
- Add the orange juice and mix well, cook without a lid for a further 5 minutes.
- Pour into a serving dish & garnish with grated orange zest, fennel seeds and some of the green fronds from the fennel.
- Serve alongside the meatball and lentil bake.
- Garnish the meatball & lentil bake with some of the green fronds from the fennel bulbs.
- Flatbreads, rice or couscous would also be good accompaniments, if needed, for this meal.
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5 stars