Moroccan Meatballs

When we drove around Morocco, I fell in love with the bbq’d lamb meatballs, sold at roadside stands, grilled on a hibachi. For dinner tonight I recreated something in between meatballs and burgers, and they were YUMMY! Sorry, can’t give you real recipe – I always wing it – but hopefully this will get your creative juices flowing and encourage you to give it a try.

I used spices that sounded right to me – ground cumin, fennel, coriander, cayenne, turmeric, dried mint, crushed garlic, harissa, and a little plain kefir for moisture (no egg or breadcrumbs). Just google harissa if you are not familiar. I made it myself, but you can buy it.

As a side, I mixed couscous and lentils with harissa and similar spices mentioned above, with a little cinnamon and nutmeg added, then felt it needed a little ‘brightness’, so threw in some fresh chopped tomatoes at the end.  And for veggies, I roasted some broccolini in the oven – 350 for 30 mins, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, (let it get a little crispy!) and grilled eggplant coated with harissa on the bbq with the mini-burgers.

Give it a try, it was YUMMY!

*Yes the “burger” is tiny, by normal standards, but we tend to eat 3/4 veggies and grains, and small portions of meat. I had 3 more burgers which were saved for lunch tomorrow!

*I used Hulsman Ranch (sustainably raised, grass fed) ground lamb, which I think I got at our local health food store “New Moon”.