Chicken meatballs in moroccan style sauce
When I picture Friday night dinner, these are the meatballs I envision. My weekend cooking ritual includes these meatballs, because it’s not really a weekend without them! The sauce is fantastic and the meatballs are nestled nicely inside.
The aroma of fresh herbs and rich sauce waft through the house. And I already feel the weekend has begun.
The meatballs come out tender and the sauce is delicious. Imagine how tasty this will be with white rice. Perfection!
Makes 3 servings
Ingredients:
600 grams ground chicken breast
4 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
1 medium onion
3 Tbsp breadcrumbs
1 medium potato
1 tsp Ras el hanout spice mixture
1 tsp Moroccan paprika
1 level Tbsp chicken bouillon
Ground black pepper
For the sauce:
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
4 tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
4 Tbsp parsley
4 Tbsp cilantro
1.5 – 2 cups water
Hot green pepper
1 Tbsp Moroccan paprika
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
Ground black pepper
Salt
Preparation:
1. To prepare the meatballs:
Finely chop the onion. Add 2 Tbsp of oil to a pan and add the onion and sauté until golden and then transfer to a bowl. Add the other ingredients, wet hands and form ping pong-sized meatballs. Refrigerate for around 30 minutes.
2. To prepare the sauce:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Score the tops of the tomatoes and drop them in the boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes and drain. Let cool and peel.
3. Finely dice the onion, heat a pan with 3 Tbsp of oil, and sauté the onion for around two minutes. Slice the garlic and add to onion. Sauté for a few more minutes.
4. Chop the pepper and add to the pan. Chop the tomatoes and add as well, sautéing for a minute, then add the spices and 1.5 cups of water, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Chop the herbs and add to the sauce.
5. Add the meatballs to the sauce, add enough water so that the sauce reaches 3/4 of the height of the meatballs. Lower the heat to medium and cook for around 25 minutes.
Served with breadsticks, dried tomatoes in olive oil, vegetable soup, and basmati rice.
You can also follow me on Instagram, it’s tasty there!
Good to know…
You can make the meatballs a few hours ahead of time and keep them refrigerated. You can make the sauce separately the day before. You can substitute the chicken with beef or do a 50-50 mix. You can substitute the potatoes with carrot. Don’t have any Ras el hanout? Use 1/2 tsp. turmeric. Don’t want it spicy? Leave the pepper out.