Lamb Meatballs With Spiced Tomato Sauce

Name: Lamb Meatballs With Spiced Tomato Sauce
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 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; 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; 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled; 2 tablespoons thinly sliced mint leaves

Recipe from Suzanne Goin

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Updated Feb. 20, 2024

Lamb Meatballs With Spiced Tomato Sauce — Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 5(2,564)
Comments: Read comments

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

Featured in: Comfort Food Grows Up

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

For the Meatballs

1medium onion, peeled and finely diced
¼ cup heavy cream
2egg yolks, extra-large
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of crushed red pepper
Pinch of ground cayenne, or to taste
2pounds ground lamb
Kosher salt and black pepper
1cup bread crumbs
¼ cup chopped parsley

For the Sauce

128-ounce can whole tomatoes
3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1small sprig rosemary
Crushed red pepper to taste
1medium onion, peeled and diced
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cayenne
1bay leaf
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ cup orange juice
13-inch strip of orange peel, pith removed
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

For the Topping

4ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2tablespoons thinly sliced mint leaves

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

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.
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.
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.
Step 4
Cook for 8 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat, until reduced by a third. Adjust seasoning.
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.
Step 6
Top with crumbled feta and mint.

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Ratings

5 out of 5

2,564 user ratings

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Comments

Sharon8 years ago

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

Alexandra8 years ago

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.

Josephine8 years ago

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

paulaE3 days ago

Brought this as a crock pot dish to a party. Not only was it devoured in minutes, I have never had more people ask me for a recipe before! Modified for dietary restrictions—used vegan cream, GF breadcrumbs, and vegan feta. Also doubled the sauce to allow them to sit in the crockpot without drying out

NYRI cook1 week ago

I have made this repeatedly and again this week. Delicious and easy. I do modify it in this one way: I make a half recipe of the meatballs and a full recipe of the sauce. IMO, otherwise there is not quite enough sauce. I use a 2.75" ice cream scoop which yields 15 golf ball sized meatballs. I find this plenty for 4 servings esp. since the lamb balls are quite rich. I have tried both broiling the meatballs as the recipe specifies and I have also baked them at 450 for 12 mins. + 2 min broil.

Rachel1 month ago

The orange juice and rind is a great touch, very well balanced and delicious. I make a version of this without cream and breadcrumbs but the meatballs are not as tender. I have to say that this is a nice hybrid of the tenderness of swedish style meatballs with the amazing flavors of kefta.

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