Beef meatballs with celery sauce
Beef meatballs are very popular in this part of Morocco, and particularly in Tangier. They are often made for festive Saturday-night dinners. They are served with a celery sauce, peas and artichokes. Traditional spices such as saffron, ginger and nutmeg are used.
Ingredients
| 400 г | Beef mince |
| 1 | Slice of white bread |
| 1 | Egg |
| 1 | Onion |
| 1/2 връзка | Parsley |
| 1 щипка | Dried ground ginger |
| 1/2 чаена лъжица | Turmeric |
| 1/2 чаена лъжица | Grated nutmeg |
| — | Salt and black pepper |
| 400 г | Frozen peas (for the garnish) |
| 1 | Onion (for the garnish) |
| 1/2 връзка | Celery leaves (for the garnish) |
| 1 щипка | Saffron (for the garnish) |
| 50 мл | Olive oil (for the garnish) |
| — | Salt and black pepper (for the garnish) |
Instructions
For the meatballs, soak the bread in water and squeeze it out. Finely chop the onion and parsley. In a bowl combine the mince, bread and egg. Add the onion, parsley and spices. Knead well and let rest for 30 minutes. Shape into small round meatballs and set aside.
Soak the saffron in 400 ml water.
For the garnish, finely chop the onion and sauté in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add half a tea cup of the saffron water and the peas. Season with salt and black pepper. If needed, add more water to cover the peas and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Line the bottom of a pot in which the meatballs will be cooked with half of the celery leaves. Arrange the meatballs on top, pour over the remaining olive oil and the saffron water. Season with salt and pepper and cover with the other half of the celery. Leave to simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes.
Serve with the celery sauce from the cooking and the boiled peas.
From https://www.kulinarno-joana.com/2008/09/sabbath-meatballs/