Kefta – Tunisian meatballs

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1,000 g minced beef
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
• 2 small onions, red
• 1 egg(s)
• ¼ salted lemon(s)
• Ras el Hanout
• salt and pepper
• turmeric
• coriander
• Nutmeg, grated
• Harissa paste
• chili powder
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 can of tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• ¼ salted lemon(s)
• ½ bunch parsley
• ½ cup tomato juice
• 1 stalk(s) cinnamon
• some harissa paste
• some tomato paste
• salt and pepper
• some lemon juice from the salt lemons
• n. B. Honey

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 40 minutes

with spicy tomato sauce

Thoroughly mix the minced meat and all other meatball ingredients with the finely chopped herbs and salted lemons, and season generously with the spices. If the minced meat mixture becomes too dry, add a little water. With moistened hands, form meatballs about the size of ping-pong balls and flour half of the meatballs, leaving the other half unfloured. Fry all the meatballs in a pan with oil until lightly browned. For the sauce, finely chop the onions, salted lemons, and herbs. Sauté the onions in olive oil with the tomato paste and a teaspoon of the harissa paste. When the onions are translucent, add the diced tomatoes, top up with tomato juice, add the salted lemons, and the remaining spices and herbs, and bring everything to a boil. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer covered over low heat for about 30 minutes. Season the sauce with spices, salt, pepper, and a little juice of the salted lemons. If it’s too sour, sweeten with a little honey. Rosemary or thyme honey goes very well. Tip: If you like, add some cooked potatoes to the sauce with the meatballs towards the end of the cooking time and let them simmer for a few more minutes. Note: The main flavor of this dish comes from the ras el hanout and the salted lemons; these are the central ingredients, and the taste of the dish varies depending on the spice blend used. You have to experiment a bit to find the right amount, which is why I only specified a quarter of a salted lemon. I personally use about twice that amount. You can cook the cinnamon stick with the dish, but the ras el hanout is usually quite cinnamon-rich, so additional cinnamon flavor isn’t necessary. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.