Kooftah, Keftah, Morrocan Meatballs

Hey All,

I seem to be visiting this about once every year. I really need to fix that.

Today I made some Keftah and Lemon Rice, this is inspired by The Med. Its one of those that takes a bit, but is entirely worth it.

For the Meatballs:

1/2 cup cooked rice
Half a Large Onion chopped finely or run through the food processor
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork or hot Italian sausage (If you are using ground pork, add 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. If you use sausage, use HOT, the spices in regular Italian sausage don't work well for this recipe)
1 egg
8 dried apricots (I use dried nectaplums I dried from a friend's tree last summer. I dry things to crispy, to prevent mold, so I plumped them in 1/2 cup hot water, reheating in the microwave as necessary. It took about 2 hours.  Add the leftover soak water to the tomato sauce to enrich the flavor)

Mix that all except the apricots together in a bowl and let it set in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

When its time to cook, heat the oven to 400F.

Wrap a good sized amount of the meat mixture around each apricot and place on a lightly greased (pan spray is handy here) baking sheet. Here's a picture of what that looks like.

Cook at 400F for 20-30 min until cooked through.

The Lemon rice was a new experiment, next time I'll use less turmeric (this recipe reflects that change). I add turmeric to give it color, the picture in the recipe that inspired this was dreadfully beige/bland, so I added some turmeric to bump up the color....it also adds an interesting flavor that I rather like.

Lemon Rice:

2 cups white rice
1 Tblsp chicken bullion
1 1/2 tsp turmeric Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of that lemon + enough water to make 2 1/2 cups
1 tsp salt

Put that all in an instant pot and cook on the normal rice cycle. Let pressure release naturally.

Lastly the tomato sauce. Most recipes make WAY too much sauce, unless I have a need for Morrocan tomato sauce later, I make a half batch like this:

Morrocan Tomato Sauce:

2 Tblsp tomato paste (optional, but it bumps up the tomato flavor)

1/2 teaspoon fennel or anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon grated orange or lemon rind (I use 3-4 drops of lemon essential oil when I don't have a lemon handy)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon or a dash of ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon or a dash of salt to taste
1 14-15oz can tomato sauce

Place that all in a saucepan and gently warm for several hours. I put it on the warmer burner on high to med-high, stirring once in a while. When everything else is ready, it is hot and flavorful.

For the final dish, make a bed of rice, desired number of meatballs, and pour sauce over the top. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley if you like.

I'll spare the stories that cooks so often skip over and just say its been a good year. I moved to a new position that pays handsomely, is challenging, but doesn't make me nutso.

Welcome to 2019, I hope its a great year for you all!

3Day