A generous Algiers classic: meat meatballs flavored with garlic and cumin, simmered with lamb pieces in a short, silky white sauce. The chickpeas add the tenderness and family spirit of this traditional dish.
Ingredients
- 500 g lamb shoulder, cut into pieces
- 350 g ground beef
- 250 g jarred cooked chickpeas
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 piece egg
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 20 g unsalted butter
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- to taste fine salt
- 700 ml water
- 0.5 bunches flat-leaf parsley
- 1 piece lemon
Method
- Peel the garlic, pound it with the salt until you have a moist, highly fragrant paste. Keep some for the sauce and some for the meatballs.
- Mix the ground meat with the reserved garlic paste, cumin, white pepper, egg, and a little chopped parsley. Knead until the mixture becomes sticky, then shape into even meatballs with slightly moistened hands.
- In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil with the butter, then sauté the lamb pieces until they are golden in spots and the bottom of the pot smells like roasted meat.
- Add the garlic paste intended for the sauce, the remaining cumin, white pepper, and cinnamon. Stir gently until the garlic is fragrant but not browned.
- Pour in the water, scrape the bottom of the pot, cover, and simmer until the lamb starts to become tender and the sauce takes on a slightly pearlescent appearance.
- Drain the chickpeas, add them to the pot, and continue cooking until they soak up the sauce and the meat falls apart easily under a fork.
- Drop the meatballs into the simmering sauce without stirring too much. Let them firm up, then gently shake the pot to coat them without breaking them.
- Let reduce uncovered until you have a short, glossy, and coating white sauce. Adjust the salt, add fresh parsley, and serve hot with a subtle squeeze of lemon if desired.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 658.1 kcal
- Protein
- 48.83 g
- Carbohydrate
- 19.29 g
- Fat
- 43.42 g
- Fibre
- 6.73 g
- Calcium
- 99.69 mg
- Iron
- 6.86 mg
- Magnesium
- 116.17 mg
