Speedy Moroccan meatballs

Speedy Moroccan meatballs

By Good Food
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
(38 ratings)
By
Magazine subscription – 5 issues for £5

Prep: 5 mins Cook: 15 mins

Easy

Serves 4
A great twist on meatballs for a quick and tasty supper

Nutrition and extra info

  • Freezable

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal388
  • fat25g
  • saturates9g
  • carbs24g
  • sugars17g
  • fibre6g
  • protein18g
  • salt1.58g
Save to My Good Food
Please sign in or register to save recipes.
Print

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
    olive oil

    Olive oil

    ol-iv oyl

    Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

  • 350g pack ready-made beef or chicken meatballs (approx 16)
    Beef

    Beef

    bee-f

    The classic cut of meat for a British Sunday roast, beef is full of flavour, as well as being a…

  • 1 large onion, sliced
    Onion

    Onion

    un-yun

    Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

  • 100g dried apricot, halved
  • 1 small cinnamon stick
    Cinnamon

    Cinnamon

    sin-ah-mun

    A fragrant spice which comes from the inner bark of a tropical tree. When dried, it curls into…

  • 400g tin chopped tomato with garlic
    Tomato

    Tomato

    toe-mart-oh

    A member of the nightshade family (along with aubergines, peppers and chillies), tomatoes are in…

  • 25g toasted flaked almond
  • handful coriander, roughly chopped

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan, then fry the meatballs for 10 mins, turning occasionally until cooked through. Scoop out of the pan and set aside, then cook the onion for 5 mins, until softened.

  2. Add the dried apricots, cinnamon stick, tomatoes and half a can of water to the pan, then bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins. Remove the cinnamon stick. Return the meatballs to the pan and coat well with the tomato sauce. Serve sprinkled with the almonds and coriander.

  • Tip

    Using ground cinnamon

    If you don’t have any cinnamon sticks, use a good pinch of ground cinnamon instead.

  • Tip

    Making a Chicken tagine

    Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and fry 4 sliced skinless chicken breasts, for 3-4 mins until cooked through. Remove, then continue with the above recipe from stage 2. Return chicken to the pan, then simmer for 10 mins before serving as above.

Ads by Google

Comments, questions and tips

Sign in or create your My Good Food account to join the discussion.

Comments (29)

jessbaz's picture
jessbaz18th Jun, 2016

Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I used Moroccan breadcrumbs which added so much flavour to the meatballs. I've recommended this recipe to a number of friends.

pandorcia's picture
pandorcia8th Mar, 2016

My husband's new favourite dish :)
I added some salt, 1tsp of mixed spice and 1 tbsp of harissa paste to the sauce, and also instead of just apricots I added dried fruit mix (about 300g - hubby's got a sweet tooth).
I also made my own meatballs - used "Spicy meatballs" recipe, found on this website too.
It goes great with lemon, pistachio & mint couscus :)

cforsey's picture
cforsey20th Jul, 2014

Lovely Saturday night quick meal, however the sauce didn't go far and my husband and I polished off the whole pan! The sauce was missing something, not sure what though. I added cumin as advised, would make again but probably experiment again with different spices.

lizleicester's picture
lizleicester21st Jun, 2014
5

This has now become my favourite meatball recipe. The apricots and cinnamon sticks give it a lovely Moroccan twist and so I served it with Summer Couscous salad and Moroccan roasted veg. Perfect al fresco treat.

rosievimes's picture
rosievimes11th Feb, 2014
5

A wonderfully delicious and simple recipe, and a good crowd pleaser. The flavours work well together and give that authentic Moroccan taste. Would be tempted to do more meatballs per person than the recipe states as you'll certainly have people coming back for more!

katsuya's picture
katsuya26th Jan, 2013
5

Easy and delicious!

starrigby's picture
starrigby20th Sep, 2012
4

Delicious, I made my own meatballs and cut up fresh chills to put in them, the spice goes well with the sweetness. Also added paprika and cayenne pepper too the sauce.

lydiamaria50's picture
lydiamaria5014th Aug, 2012
5

I made this for my friends, one of whom must have a wheat free diet. So made my own lamb meat balls and fried them to brown the outside, then put in oven for 1 hour - turned out very well. The sauce was really good and tasty and went well with Basmati and wild rice.
Will def. make again!

dawnwithoutsound's picture
dawnwithoutsound25th Jun, 2012
4

I found this a bit too sweet, but would make again. I'd recommend adding some spice (cumin perhaps) and maybe fewer apricots.

frozenpixie's picture
frozenpixie24th Feb, 2011
5

Quick, tasty and absolutely delicious. A very easy dish with wonderful flavours.

hparkes's picture
hparkes16th Feb, 2011
5

really lovely. I used passata and also added some orange juice and a pinch of chilli flakes. YUM!

shellyc's picture
shellyc6th Feb, 2011
4

This is lovely, I added some extra chilli powder, some sultanas and a little cumin for more flavour, works great with quorn meatballs.

foulkesy123's picture
foulkesy1239th Nov, 2010
5

Delicious! The apricots and cinnamon really worked well with the tomatoes to make it taste quite sweet and lovely! Made my own meatballs with ground cumin, chilli powder and a bit of nutmeg though to give it a more Moroccan taste!

amyspurdle's picture
amyspurdle5th May, 2010
3

I also made the Spicy Meatball recipe as I thought it would be pretty bland without it. I also added some cumin and chickpeas to the sauce. Will make again but won't hold back on adding more flavour

stacey07708's picture
stacey0770818th Nov, 2009
4

great, easy recipe!

mvdsterren's picture
mvdsterren25th Oct, 2009
4

Lovely, with falafel instead of meatballs.

kerryburnett's picture
kerryburnett16th Oct, 2009
5

Loved it. Used Sainsbury's Moroccan lamb burgers and made them into meatballs then followed the rest of the recipes. Very tasty.

vrog's picture
vrog1st Oct, 2009
4

Good. Nice combination of flavours, but we felt it needed a bit more spicing up - will add some chilli or tagine paste next time.

corney32's picture
corney3229th Aug, 2009
5

I thought this was fab, and so did both my young boys. I thought the apricot/tomato/corriander/cinnamon combo was out of this world, and you couldn't ask for an easier recipe! I seared the meatballs in a pan, then chucked the lot in a slow cooker on high for 3 hours. Fantastic.

sandraleeben's picture
sandraleeben13th Apr, 2009
2

OK dinner, but nothing special. Would not make it again.

Pages

Questions (0)

Unsure about the cooking time or want to swap an ingredient? Ask us your questions and we’ll try and help you as soon as possible. Or if you want to offer a solution to another user’s question, feel free to get involved…

Be the first to ask a question about this recipe…

Tips (0)

Got your own twist on this recipe? Or do you have suggestions for possible swaps and additions? We’d love to hear your ideas.

Be the first to suggest a tip for this recipe…