Firstly, I’d like to thank Rilsta from My Food Trail for the lovely Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker I received from her 100th post competition! I was very happy to hear I had finally won something, especially something food related. Although this recipe does not use the flavour shaker, I have a few recipes I think could make good use of this and will hopefully be able to make and post them in the new year. Please visit Rilsta’s food blog, it has a great reviews of places to eat around Melbourne and some lovely recipes too! Thanks again Rilsta.

Now onto the dish – the aromas coming from the kitchen when these meatballs were cooking in the oven could tempt any passer-by.

I loved that the base of this dish was with chickpeas too. I was trying to find something other than potatoes, rice or pasta to serve with meatballs – and the chickpeas were very complementary.

Moroccan Meatballs with Chickpeas

Recipe from Cuisine

Makes 16 to 18 meatballs, Serves 4

Meatballs
2 thick slices white bread, crusts removed
100ml milk
500g lean minced lamb
1 small onion, grated
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, halved and finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g canned tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
400g canned chickpeas, drained
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 200C. Soak the bread in milk for five minutes then squeeze out excess milk. Mix the bread with the meat in a bowl. Add the onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and salt and knead it with your hands until well mixed. Roll the meat into golf ball-sized balls, place on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned.

To make the sauce, heat oil in a frypan and cook onion for five minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes and their juices, tomato paste, water and bring to the boil. Add chickpeas, parsley, coriander, cumin, paprika, ginger and salt, stirring, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add meatballs and simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt, if desired.

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