Meatballs with White Beans and Preserved Lemon, in Spicy Tomato Sauce

My mom made a Tagine dish everyday for lunch. Tagine is not not just a type of cookware, but it’s also a generic name for Moroccan slow-cooked stews, mostly of chicken or meat with vegetables and since in these stews there is always plenty of aromatic sauce and juices from the meat or chicken, it definitely calls for some bread to soak it up in.

A slow-cooked tagine has few basic steps:

A. You sauté garlic and onion in oil, to build up the aroma of the dish.

B. You add spices and fry them lightly, to create deeper aromatic flavors.

C. The result is never dry. You want to get a flavorful sauce that is fairly thick from slow reduction in oil and gelatin coming from the poultry or beef. The sauce is part of the dish and is served to be soaked up with bread, rice or couscous.

• 1 lb. ground beef or a mix of ground chicken and beef

• 1 medium onion

• 1 bunch of parsley, leaves only, well-washed 

• 1 egg, beaten

• ¼ cup breadcrumbs or 1 small potato, peeled and grated

• ⅛ tsp. baking powder

• 1 tbsp. Ras El Hanut

• ½ tsp. black pepper

• 1 tsp. salt

•  ¾ cup dried white beans, soaked in cold water for half a day OR 1 ½ cup canned beans

For the sauce:

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 1 small medium, finely diced

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 cup water or chicken stalk

• ¾ cup chopped tomatoes

• 2 tbsp. preserved lemon, chopped OR fresh lemon, finely chopped

• 1 ½ tbsp. paprika

• 1 tbsp. cumin

• 3-4 dried hot peppers- optional

• 1 fresh red chili, chopped- optional

1. If you use dried beans, cook them in hot boiling water till they are tender. Drain.

2. In a food processor, chop the onion, parsley and garlic. Transfer to a bowl.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead well (you may not need to add all of the egg. Feel the consistency of the mixture. It needs to be soft but firm.

4. Let it rest and make the sauce in the meantime.

5. In a wide pot, heat the oil and saute the onion for 5 minutes.

6. Add the spices, the peppers and then the garlic. Keep frying for 2 more minutes

7. Add the tomatoes  and fry for 2 more minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil.

8. Form meatballs and toss them into the sauce. 

9. Add the lemon and beans. Bring to a boil again.

10. Lower the heat and cook for 40 minutes.

11. Serve with plenty of white bread or with plain rice