Lamb Meatballs With Spiced Tomato Sauce

Recipe from Suzanne Goin

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Updated February 19, 2024

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Total Time
1 hour
Rating
5(2,633)
Comments
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Here is a recipe from the Los Angeles chef Suzanne Goin that plays to children as well as to the most sophisticated of palates. It is for crisp lamb meatballs cooked through in a fragrant North African-inspired sauce of tomato sauce zipped up with orange juice and warm spices, then topped with feta and mint. Ms. Goin first served the dish at one of her Los Angeles restaurants, and put it into ‘‘The A.O.C. Cookbook’’ (Knopf, 2013), devoted to that restaurant’s food. A version of the dish was later introduced to the menu of her children’s school. It can be cooked in an hour’s time, not all of it busy, and served with pita or plain pasta, bulgur or couscous. —Sam Sifton

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

FOR THE MEATBALLS

  • 1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced

  • ¼ cup heavy cream

  • 2 egg yolks, extra-large

  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • Pinch of crushed red pepper

  • Pinch of ground cayenne, or to taste

  • 2 pounds ground lamb

  • Kosher salt and black pepper

  • 1 cup bread crumbs

  • ¼ cup chopped parsley

FOR THE SAUCE

  • 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 small sprig rosemary

  • Crushed red pepper to taste

  • 1 medium onion, peeled and diced

  • ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin

  • Pinch of ground cinnamon

  • Pinch of ground cayenne

  • 1 bay leaf

  • ½ teaspoon granulated sugar

  • ¼ cup orange juice

  • 1 3-inch strip of orange peel, pith removed

  • Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

FOR THE TOPPING

  • 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

  • 2 tablespoons thinly sliced mint leaves

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

20 grams carbs; 158 milligrams cholesterol; 537 calories; 17 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 40 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 697 milligrams sodium; 25 grams protein; 6 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat broiler. In a large bowl, mix together the onion, cream, egg yolks, cinnamon, cumin, red pepper and cayenne. Put the lamb in the bowl, and season it aggressively with salt and pepper. Add the bread crumbs and parsley, and combine the mixture well. Shape the meat into balls that are a little larger than golf balls.

  2. Step 2

    Grease a baking pan with olive oil, and put the meatballs onto it, spaced evenly. Place beneath the broiler, and cook, turning once or twice, until the meatballs are well browned, approximately 5 to 7 minutes, then set meatballs aside. Turn oven to 400.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, make the sauce. Pass the tomatoes through a food mill, or whizz them quickly in a food processor. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat for a minute, then add olive oil, rosemary and red pepper and shake to combine. Cook for another minute, then add onion, thyme, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne and bay leaf and sauté until the onions are translucent, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, orange juice and peel, along with salt and pepper.

  4. Step 4

    Cook for 8 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat, until reduced by a third. Adjust seasoning.

  5. Step 5

    Pour the tomato sauce into a large baking dish that you can put on the table. Transfer the meatballs to the sauce, putting them about ½-inch from each other. Bake for 15 or 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the meatballs are cooked through.

  6. Step 6

    Top with crumbled feta and mint.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
2,633 user ratings
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Comments

Sharon

Delicious! I did not broil the meatballs, instead I roasted them on a baking sheet in a 450 oven for 15 minutes.

Alexandra

This is indeed the recipe for kefta with a few minor changes. However, chopped cilantro in the meatballs is classic and deservedly so. And there is absolutely no need to add cream and bread crumbs: they are distractions that add only unneeded calories.

Josephine

This meat mixture also is good for stuffing small, colored pepper halves following same instructions for saucing and baking as for the meatballs.

Jennifer

When making meatballs and meatloaf I cook a little bit in the microwave or brown in a pan. That way I can season to taste.

Charles Francis

Great ideas for the spices and sauce, without the addition of heavy cream and egg yolks and white granulated sugar---how best to substitute for lighter, heart healthy options? Maybe special olive oil, skip the egg yolks and cream?

Reed Dickinson

A little on the bland side....needs more spice. I would double the spices selected.

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Credits

Adapted from ‘‘The A.O.C. Cookbook,’’ by Suzanne Goin.

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