Daoud Pasha (Middle Eastern meatball stew)

[xenacryst]

I made this last night for the second time, and it's quickly becoming one of our favorite dishes. It's a savory stew with spiced meatballs, pine nuts, and a thick tomato sauce.



First of all, let me say something about the meat. I've used Moroccan lamb sausage, which is made with a variety of spices, curry powder, and pomegranate juice, and makes a very tasty dish. The recipe I took this from suggests ground beef or lamb and a teaspoon or so each of such spices as allspice, cinnamon, and cumin. I also added some oregano and ground sumac. Lamb has a very distinctive flavor that some people love and some ... not so much. Beef would certainly work, too, and give a milder flavor. Other ground meats (veal, turkey, etc.) could probably be used if you change the spices accordingly. Also, my source suggests grinding the meat several times to get a very smooth texture; I'm not as picky as that, though I'm sure it would be very good that way.

Now, on with it...

• 1 pound ground meat (see above)
  
• 1 medium onion, cut in thin slices and half-moon shape (you want onion strings here)
  
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts or slivered almonds
  
• 1 6oz can of tomato paste
  
• water or cooking wine (white or sherry)
  
• juice of 1/2 a lemon (about 1/8 cup)
  
• olive oil
  

Optional, but very very tasty:

• 1/3 cup currants or raisins to add to the meat
  
• 1 pound fresh fava beans (about 1-1/2 to 2 cups shelled)
  

Form the meat and optional raisins or currants into meatballs. I usually make them a touch smaller than your standard spaghetti meatball -- just barely an inch in diameter; marble sized is also good. The meatballs can be made a few hours ahead and then refrigerated, covered, until your ready to start cooking.

In a large frying pan, saute the onions at medium-high heat with the olive oil until limp and fragrant. Put the meatballs in and tilt and stir to brown them on all sides. Add the nuts and fava beans and saute for a couple more minutes. Mix the tomato paste with some water and stir into the saute. Add the lemon juice and enough water or wine to not quite cover the meatballs and stir to mix everything. Turn the heat to low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until the sauce is reduced -- it should be about the consistency of a smoothie.

Serve over rice.

Servings: 3-6, depending on your appetite and your ability to keep from snarfing down as many meatballs as you can get your hands on.

Comments

[rainbow]

Oooh. I'll need to modify this a bit due to allergies/sensitivities, but ooh, it sounds good.

I expect to be snarfing meatballs tomorrow *g*

[baggyeyes]

Well, I'll have to leave out the sumac, but - omnomnom!

[ex_beautyofgr925]

This sounds really good. I wonder if it would work with a soy replacer....

[shirou]

That looks great. A friend gave me a jar of ground sumac, and I've been looking for a dish that calls for it!

[randomling]

Mmm, that was yummy! Couldn't get the sauce to thicken up, though, wonder what I did wrong.