Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Allspice and Pine Nuts
When I was younger my mum cooked a few treasured recipes on repeat, and this Middle Eastern take on meatballs in tomato sauce was one of them. I’m not too sure where she got her recipe from, but I distinctly remember the meatballs being quite soft and there being a generous sprinkling of pine nuts and parsley on top. We would always eat this with plain white rice and nowadays I’ll make it with vermicelli rice too. Recreating childhood favourites as an adult is always an interesting process, especially when you work in food. I can’t help but add and embellish – a drizzle of pomegranate molasses here, a sprinkling of halloumi there – but if you don’t have these two additions then don’t stress. You can leave them out or even play around with the spices to make this recipe your own. The main thing is that it should be warming, comforting and stress free.
Ingredients
- 1onion
- 500 gramsbeef or lamb mince (or a mixture of both), at least 10% fat
- 45 gramspanko breadcrumbs
- 60 gramsplain natural yoghurt
- 1medium egg
- 4garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1.25 teaspoonsground allspice
- 0.75 teaspoonground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoonAleppo chilli flakes
- 20 gramsparsley leaves and soft stems, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
- Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoonsolive oil
- 1onion, finely chopped
- 4garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1 tablespoontomato paste
- 1 teaspoonAleppo chilli flakes
- 450 gramsripe plum tomatoes, blitzed to a puree in a food processor
- 0.5 teaspoonsugar
- 1 tablespoonpomegranate molasses, plus extra to serve
- 25 gramspine nuts, well toasted
- Halloumi, finely grated, to serve
Instructions
- 1
First, make the meatballs. Peel and halve the onion and roughly grate both halves using a box grater. Use your hands to squeeze out the liquid from the grated onion, discarding the liquid, then add this to a large mixing bowl.
- 2
Add the remaining meatball ingredients along with 1¼ teaspoons of salt and a generous grind of pepper and use your hands to evenly mix everything together.
- 3
Use wet hands to shape the mix into 15 evenly sized balls, roughly 50g each. Place onto a plate and refrigerate for about half an hour.
- 4
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, lidded sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and fry for about 5 minutes, turning as necessary or until nicely browned on the outsides. Transfer the meatballs to a plate once ready, and return the pan to the heat with the chopped onion and remaining tablespoon of oil. Fry for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly coloured then add the garlic, tomato paste and chilli. Cook for another 30–60 seconds until fragrant, stirring all the while, then pour in the pureed tomatoes and 150ml of water.
- 5
Season with the sugar, ¾ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper and simmer on medium heat for about 12 minutes.
- 6
Stir in the pomegranate molasses and the meatballs, spooning over the sauce so it nicely coats the meatballs. Top with the lid, turn the heat down to medium-low and let cook for another 15 minutes, stirring a couple times throughout.
- 7
When ready to serve, transfer to a shallow dish and drizzle over another 2–3 teaspoons of pomegranate molasses. Sprinkle over the pine nuts, a handful of extra parsley and (if using) a sprinkling of grated halloumi.