©Jennifer Felicia Abadi: www.JenniferAbadi.com
Even though this may be a dish served for an Iraqi Passover Seder meal, it is not something that is reserved solely for this holiday alone. Iraqis may prepare this for most any special occasion, including Rosh Hashanah as well as Shabbat. The sweet and savory combination of beef and/or lamb cooked with dried apricots is distinctly Middle Eastern, and has carried over into the Sephardic palate.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6 (Makes About 5 Cups / About 1½ Dozen Meatballs Plus Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
For the Sauce:
1 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup pitted prunes
¼ cup golden raisins
2 tablespoon canola, vegetable, or olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onions (about 1 medium)
One 6-ounce can (about ½ cup) tomato paste
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/8 to ½ teaspoon kosher salt (depending upon how salty your tomato paste is)
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
For the Meatballs:
½ pound ground lamb
½ pound ground beef
¼ cup cold water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
3/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 to 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil (for greasing your hands and browning meatballs)
EQUIPMENT:
Measuring cups and spoons
Large chef’s or chopping knife and cutting board
Small bowl
3-quart saucepan
Large mixing bowl
Medium mixing bowl
PROCEDURE:
PREPARE THE SAUCE:
1. Soak the dried apricots, prunes, and raisins in a small bowl with 3 cups hot water. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the onions, stirring, until soft and golden but not brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a large mixing bowl, keeping the saucepan for frying the meatballs (do not wash!).
3. Add the tomato paste and lemon juice and mix until the tomato paste is smooth and blended into the onions.
4. Add the salt, ginger, and ground coriander and mix well.
5. Add the dried fruit with all of its soaking water and mix well to combine. Set aside to prepare the meatballs.
PREPARE THE MEATBALLS:
6. Combine all the meatball ingredients (except for the oil) in a medium-size bowl squeezing it together with your hands until well blended and the meat is very soft.
7. Wash and dry your hands, then coat them lightly with extra canola or vegetable oil. Taking 1½ tablespoons of meat, roll it into a smooth meatball. Place the meatball onto a large platter or plate and continue to roll until all of the meat is used, oiling your hands if necessary.
8. Pour 1 tablespoon of canola oil into the same large saucepan that cooked the onions and reheat over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Place the meatballs into the saucepan and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total.
FINISH THE STEW & SERVE:
9. Pour the sauce mixture over the browned meatballs and mix gently, taking care not to break the meatballs. Bring to a boil over high heat, uncovered, then lower to a medium heat and slow boil until sauce has thickened and reduced slightly and fruit is very soft or almost mushy in texture, about 1 hour.
10. Serve hot over white rice or as is alongside cooked vegetables or potatoes.
Wow. Must try!
These look great. They seem remarkably like some of the Syrian recipes that you have included in A Fistful of Lentils, and the preparation is similar, too. Are the Iraqi and Syrian Jewish cuisines generally this similar?
Hi Robert, yes you are correct. This particular meatball dish is very much like one you might see in my Syrian cookbook. There are several similarities between Syrian and Iraqi cooking, mainly that they both enjoy the combination of savory mixed with sweet in several of their main dishes. In this case you have the savory beef or lamb in the meatballs, mixed in a sauce that has dried apricots and tomatoes (which are both sweet and tart). In Morocco you might see this concept in a lamb Tajine or stew that uses dried plums or prunes in place of the apricots.