How to feed a crowd of people . . . . The Moroccan Meatball Recipe

Hello my blogees!

My flatmate & I threw a party last night, and we had around 40 people come along. It was a really lovely night, I had such a good time.

I was in charge of food (surprise!). I wanted to do some nibbles, but then a few heavier things to fill people up a little.





I bought corn chips, and did a guacamole. The Guac' lasted about 36 seconds. I didn't get to try it! There is only 1 reason why: Herbie's Spices.

Herbie's Spices is a beyond fabulous spice shop in Rozelle. It is in a terrace, and it has floor to ceiling, row after row of spices & herbs.

This is their website: http://www.herbies.com.au/

They will mail you anything you want (at the flat rate, no ridiculous P&H fees), but if you do get a chance you should absolutley check it out.

Their cookbook is wonderful too (their beefcheeks w/ baharat is amazing, but more on that another time).

And the point of all this is that they have a Guacamole Spice Mix for $3.60. Total bargain, all you need to do is take 1 avocado, add 3 teaspoons of the mix, and a squeeze of lime juice. Instant success.

Hummus: easy, thank you Harris Farm, and I also got a heap of dutch (baby) carrots, to go with it, as well as the chips, and they were a great success too: I heard later the vego's loved them (not something I had remotely thought of!). I also roasted some beef, thinly sliced. Awesome because you can do it on the morning, or even a couple of days before. Put on the table next to a basket full of bread rolls, and a pile of rocket, some mustard & people can make their own roast-beef-rolls.

Rick Stein's Moroccan Lamb Meatball Tagine. This is one of my favourite dishes to cook, and very straightforward to make. You probably don't need a tagine, just a casserole dish with a lid, or even just an oven-proof fry pan. 

Olive Oil
4 eggs (or one per person, as good a quality as possible)
Meatballs
500g lamb mince
2 tbs fresh parsley
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp hot paprika
Sauce
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g tin tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp ground black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 200'c. Mix the meatball ingredients well together in a bowl, and with wet hands roll into walnut shaped balls.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in  the tagine (or whatever you are using) and brown the meatballs on all sides, then remove from the pan.

Add a little more oil to the pan, and gently fry the onion & garlic for 10 minutes until very soft, but not barely browned. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer for 12 mins or so, until it has thickened a little.

Add the meatballs, mix all together, then crack the eggs, one at a time, pop the lid on, and then put into the oven & cook until the eggs are just set. Serve w/ warmed flatbread.

This is a video of Rick (as his friends call him) making it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYKqUGdc7rc