Moroccan Meatball and Lentil Bake With Company!

Name: Moroccan Meatball and Lentil Bake With Company!
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 6-8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 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; 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 4 ounces 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; 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

Submitted by French Tart

"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."

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photo by French Tart

Ready In:: 2hrs
Ingredients:: 32
Serves:: 6

ingredients

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 4 ounces 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)

directions

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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Reviews

This is one of the best recipes i have come across for a long time and my other half said it was one of the best meals i have ever cooked for him! I didn't do the veg but i took out the apricots and added aubergine, corguette and mushrooms to the bake. Thanks it was delicious!

lauren2go
Beyond awesome! I always love French Tart's recipes, but this one was amazing. Granted, I followed my own drummer a bit, like I always do. I made the meatballs up the way I wanted a week or two ago with ground lamb I had, baked them, and froze them for a later meal. They had basically Moroccan spices already with the cumin and parsley and coriander and cinnamon, etc. So I found this when I was skimming through other FT recipes and remembered the meatballs I had in the freezer. Perfecto! I actually cooked it all in the oven, though, and let it go while I was out. I sauteed the veg for the lentils and then separately the caramelized vegetables; added the rest of the ingredients for the lentil stew (I did put in tinned brown lentils instead of the dal it called for, I just couldn't be arsed), tossed in the frozen meatballs, and clamped the lid on the dutch oven. I left the vegetables open. I cooked it on 500 for about 30 minutes, then turned the oven off and left. Everything was perfect when I came back an hour or two later. The recipe was very flexible. Instead of fennel seeds, I sprinkled some dukkah on the vegetables and chopped the fronds from the fennel and mixed that in, too. Next time I think I'll make it with sweet potato chunks instead of carrots to use up some of our over abundance of those root vegetables. Thank you so much for this recipe! It was really dreamy! And thanks for everything you do. You're a domestic rock star.

singtoangels
Delicious! I ended up with an extra fennel bulb, for what it's worth! Thanks, French Tart! Made for Aussie / New Zealand Recipe Swap #20.

mersaydees
This was so good! Beautifully spicy, a good balance between meatballs and lentils. The carmelized vegetables go with it really well. I cooked this on the stovetop because it was too hot to fire up the oven and it worked just fine. I added a splash of wine to the lentil liquid and I left the orange out of the vegetables (I would have liked it but other family members would not have.) I also used raisins rather than apricots (though we thought they would have been good as well.) This all went quite nicely with Recipe #195545 and a spicy Australian shiraz. Thanks for posting!

patti k.
This recipe is certainly worth the effort. I have to admit that although I intended to do the vegetables as well, I didn't. I can therefore only judge the meatball and lentil bake. The leftovers were even better. Thank you for creating such a wonderful recipe.

tigerduck

see 2 more reviews

Tweaks

Beyond awesome! I always love French Tart's recipes, but this one was amazing. Granted, I followed my own drummer a bit, like I always do. I made the meatballs up the way I wanted a week or two ago with ground lamb I had, baked them, and froze them for a later meal. They had basically Moroccan spices already with the cumin and parsley and coriander and cinnamon, etc. So I found this when I was skimming through other FT recipes and remembered the meatballs I had in the freezer. Perfecto! I actually cooked it all in the oven, though, and let it go while I was out. I sauteed the veg for the lentils and then separately the caramelized vegetables; added the rest of the ingredients for the lentil stew (I did put in tinned brown lentils instead of the dal it called for, I just couldn't be arsed), tossed in the frozen meatballs, and clamped the lid on the dutch oven. I left the vegetables open. I cooked it on 500 for about 30 minutes, then turned the oven off and left. Everything was perfect when I came back an hour or two later. The recipe was very flexible. Instead of fennel seeds, I sprinkled some dukkah on the vegetables and chopped the fronds from the fennel and mixed that in, too. Next time I think I'll make it with sweet potato chunks instead of carrots to use up some of our over abundance of those root vegetables. Thank you so much for this recipe! It was really dreamy! And thanks for everything you do. You're a domestic rock star.

singtoangels

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

French Tart

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