TL/DR – Lamb Kofta Meatballs in Chunky Tomato Sauce. The flavors of parsley, garlic, onion, pine nuts, paprika and allspice are delicious in these all-lamb meatballs browned and simmered to perfection in a chunky sauce made from diced stewed tomatoes, broth and spinach. –
This recipe is based on a delicious Middle Eastern dish that is kind of like log-shaped burgers, usually grilled, and sometimes on a stick, like a kebab. The flavors are great and the nice thing about ground meat is that it can be shaped into anything. I mean, maybe savory ground meat gingerbread figures could be a thing? Right? Maybe that’s going a little far.
Meatballs are definitely a thing and they appeal to a wider audience that perhaps might not try regular lamb kofta… or to people who *think* they might not like lamb kofta. I speak, of course, of the picky children who I live with. Start by processing parsley, onion, garlic, pine nuts, salt, pepper, paprika and allspice, (I know, allspice?!) until it is a fine rubble texture.
Then smush this mixture into a pound of ground lamb and form meatballs about an inch to an inch and a half in size.Brown the meatballs, remove them from the skillet and drain all but about 1 teaspoon of fat.
In the same skillet, sauté onion and garlic and then a splash of red wine vinegar. After the vinegar cooks off, add a bit of chicken broth and 28 oz of stewed tomatoes that have been diced, (usually I have to do this part by hand,) careful not to discard any of their juices. Add the meatballs back in and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add a ton of finely chopped spinach and fresh parsley along with more red wine vinegar and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season to taste and serve with pasta or simply with crusty garlic bread.
For more traditional meatballs in sauce, try Spaghetti and Meatballs.
Lamb Kofta Meatballs in Chunky Tomato Sauce
These meatballs have the traditional flavors of Lamb Kofta and are served in a chunky tomato sauce with spinach. A healthy weeknight meal! Serve over pasta or with crusty garlic bread.
Ingredients
- 1 c Italian parsley leaves, packed, divided
- 1 small yellow onion, divided, 1/4 of the onion cut into chunks, the rest diced
- 4 small to medium cloves of garlic, divided, 2 of them minced
- 1/4 c pine nuts
- 3/4 t kosher salt
- 1/2 t paprika
- 1/4 t allspice
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 T canola or vegetable oil
- 2 T red wine vinegar, divided
- 28 oz stewed tomatoes and their juices, diced
- 1/2 c chicken broth
- 3 c finely chopped spinach
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Step 1 In a small food processor, process 1/2 cup of the parsley leaves, the 1/4 of the small yellow onion, chunked, the 2 whole cloves of garlic, the pine nuts, salt, paprika and allspice until the mixture resembles a rather fine rubble. Scrape the sides if necessary and pulse until the bits are homogenous in size.
- Step 2 Add this mixture to the ground lamb in a medium sized bowl and mix well by hand until it is fully incorporated. Then form meatballs about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in size.
- Step 3 Heat a large skillet on medium high heat with the oil inside. Brown the lamb meatballs on three sides each, about 2 min. each side, and remove them from the skillet.
- Step 4 Drain all but about 1 teaspoon of the fat from the skillet. Return the skillet to the burner and over medium heat, sauté the remainder of the yellow onion, diced, and the other two cloves of garlic, minced, for about 4 minutes.
- Step 5 Deglaze the pan with 1 T of the red wine vinegar, scraping up any cooked bits as the vinegar cooks off.
- Step 6 Add the stewed tomatoes and broth and stir well. Return the meatballs to the pan, cover and simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.
- Step 7 Add the spinach, remaining parsley and remaining 1 T red wine vinegar to the skillet and stir well. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes on low heat.
- Step 8 Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately over pasta or with crusty garlic bread.
