Description
A quick and flavorful Moroccan-inspired dish featuring tender meatballs simmered in a fragrant tomato sauce with dried apricots, cinnamon, and aromatic spices. Garnished with toasted almonds and fresh coriander for a delightful mix of textures and tastes.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs and Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 350g pack ready-made beef or chicken meatballs (approx 16)
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 100g dried apricots, halved
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes with garlic
- ~200ml water (half a can)
For Garnish
- 25g toasted flaked almonds
- Handful coriander, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil and fry meatballs: Warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the ready-made meatballs and fry them for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally until they are cooked through and browned on all sides.
- Remove meatballs and soften onion: Scoop the cooked meatballs out of the pan and set them aside. In the same pan, add the sliced large onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened and translucent.
- Add apricots, cinnamon, tomatoes, and water: Stir in the halved dried apricots, the small cinnamon stick, the chopped tomatoes with garlic from the tin, and half a can (about 200ml) of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer gently for 10 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld and the sauce to thicken.
- Remove cinnamon stick and return meatballs: Take out the cinnamon stick from the pan, then return the cooked meatballs to the tomato and apricot sauce. Stir well to coat the meatballs thoroughly with the sauce.
- Serve with garnish: Once everything is heated through and combined, serve the meatballs sprinkled generously with toasted flaked almonds and roughly chopped coriander for added crunch and freshness.
Notes
- If you don’t have a cinnamon stick, substitute with a pinch of ground cinnamon for similar warm flavor.
- For a chicken tagine variation, fry four sliced skinless chicken breasts for 3-4 minutes until cooked through, remove, then proceed with the recipe from stage 2. Return chicken to pan and simmer for 10 minutes before serving.
- To toast flaked almonds, heat them gently in a dry frying pan over medium heat, stirring frequently until golden and fragrant.
- Use coriander fresh for best aroma, but parsley can be a substitute if necessary.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Moroccan
Keywords: Moroccan meatballs, quick meatball recipe, apricot meatballs, cinnamon meatballs, easy Moroccan dinner
