Moroccan Meatballs
Almost every cuisine in the world finds a way to roll food into a ball. From Chickpeas to Bread Doughs and all different kinds of Meats, my version of Moroccan Meatballs are no different. A mouth watering combo of slightly sweet and taste bud tingling Spices.. your guests will ask if there is more in the oven.
These little pop in the mouth Moroccan Meatball wonders are great at a Party, Date Night or Lunch snack. Pair them with a Cucumber and Mint Dip and they might even become the entire meal. Of course that will depend upon how many make it out of the kitchen.
Lamb is really the classic ingredient for this style of Meatball. For me, I like to go half Lamb and half Ground Beef because I find Lamb hard to find and expensive.
I like the use of fresh Mint in Moroccan Meatballs because they cook so fast. They only take about 10-12 minutes under the Broiler so the fresh Mint and Parsley shouldn’t burn.
Other then throwing everything into a mixing bowl the only ingredient to precook is the Red Onion and Garlic. The short cooking time makes using fresh Herbs advantageous but it’s not long enough to cook the Onion. Besides that everything goes into a mixing bowl to get happy together.
time to get your hands dirty
Now for the faint of heart you can use a spoon or fork to mix buuuuut 😛 , be brave and use your hands. I probably shouldn’t have to say this but I will, WASH YOUR HANDS FIRST.
There really isn’t any easier way to make sure everything gets mixed together evenly other than to let your fingers do the walking. If you haven’t done this before it might feel a little weird but try to imagine your playing with a stress ball. Dig in and feel all that stress of the dinner party just slip away.
After you have mixed everything together you are still going to have to get your hands a little dirty. We still need to turn that Meat mixture into cute little mini Moroccan Meatballs.
Ice Cream Scoops for more than ice cream
The first thing we need to do is portion our Moroccan Meatballs evenly. I find the easiest way to quickly measure mixtures evenly is with a Tablespoon Ice Cream Scoop. I usually have several Ice Cream Scoops in my kitchen just for the purpose of measuring ingredients, and let’s be honest sometimes Ice Cream too. They are wonderful because after you take a scoop, just squeeze the handle and voila a little ball. Don’t fret, you can use a Tablespoon to measure these out if you don’t have a Scoop.
After you have portioned out all the mixture they will need a final forming before the Broiler. Place some Olive Oil in a little bowl and coat the palms of your hands with the oil. Pick up a Meatball and roll between your palms like you are holding a baby chicken. The Oil on your palms will leave a coat behind that will help give a crispy outside.
broil me please don’t cook me
The last step is to cook them under the broiler. I say the broiler not oven because the broiler will help give them a nice little crust on the outside. Arrange them nicely with a side dish of Cucumber and Mint Dip and I guarantee they won’t last long.
Moroccan Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1/2 Red Onion Small dice
- 2 cloves Garlic Finely Chopped
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 500 g Ground Lamb or approx. 1 C
- 500 g Ground Beef ( extra Lean ) or approx. 1 C
- 3/4 C Chopped Italian Parsley Use curly if you like
- 3/4 C Chopped Mint
- 2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Ground Coriander
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 4 Tbsp Panko Bread crumbs Or alternative
- 1 Egg lightly beaten
- 2-3 pinches Salt Large Pinches
- 1-2 pinches Pepper Small Pinches
For Rolling
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil for coating your palms when rolling Meatballs
Instructions
- Start off by dicing half a Red Onion into a small dice and finely chopping 2 cloves of Garlic. Place a small pan on your cooktop over a medium heat, let the pan heat up.Add the Olive Oil and Sweat the Onions and Garlic until the onion just starts to become translucent and before the Garlic burns. Transfer them to a mixing bowl.
- After Chopping the Parsley and Mint, measure all the other ingredients and place in the mixing bowl with the Red Onion. After adding a couple large pinches of Salt and some Pepper get ready to roll up the sleeves. Now might be a good time to grab your Ice Cream Scoop or Tablespoon and line a Baking Sheet with Parchment, before your hands get dirty. And don’t forget to turn your broiler onto high and place an oven rack about 4 inches underneath.
- Wash your hands first, now dig in and mix everything together. The more evenly you mix the more likely each Meatball will receive all the seasonings.
- Time to grab your Tablespoon size Ice Cream Scoop, or just a plain Tablespoon measuring spoon. Start digging in and scoop out little measured balls of the mixture and placing them on the baking sheet.
- Pour a little Olive Oil in a bowl for adding to your hands as you roll the Meatballs. Start by using your scoop to portion everything out onto the baking sheet. Coat you’re Palms with a little Oil and roll the meatballs into perfect little compact balls.
- Spread them out on a baking pan and place them under the broiler. Every oven is different so I would check them after about 8 minutes. If they browned quickly but you’re not sure if they are done just move them to a lower rack and cook for another 4-5 minutes. In my oven 12 minutes was perfect for a nice crust and they were cooked all the way through.
- However many Meatballs make it out of the kitchen arrange them nicely on a platter with a side dish of Cucumber and Mint Dip and let everyone else dig in.