Lamb and Date Meatballs in Eggplant and Tomato Sauce 10+ Ways
A recipe that NEVER disappoints
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Credit where credit is due, this recipe has been adapted from one by the most excellent London chef, Helen Graves whose content I consume as ravenously as her dishes.
I made it one rainy Sunday afternoon some 3 or 4 years ago, adapted it to what I had in my pantry (of course) and it was a winner. It’s been on my meal rotation since then.
Smoky eggplant, middle eastern spices, sweet dates, and the lightest meatballs - I mean, there is very little not to love.
The only thing to mention is that it takes a little time because you’ve gotta roast those eggplants for the sauce. To make the roasting time worth it, I like to make double and freeze the sauce for another day.
The one step I would never skip is adding bread soaked in milk to your meatballs. It’s a revelation - it makes all meatballs light without any dryness. Magic.
There is huge room for adaptation in this recipe which of course, is why I love it. Let’s go.
The original recipe
Serves 4
The meatballs
500g / 17 oz ground lamb
2 slices of white bread, crusts cut off
Milk
4 dates, pitted and finely chopped
A spice mix made of:
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp dried mint
Pinch of sea salt
The sauce
2 medium-sized eggplants
400g / 14oz can crushed tomatoes
1 large onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cinnamon stick
300ml / 1.25 cups vegetable stock
Pinch sea salt
Prick the eggplants all over with a fork and place under a broiler for around 40 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so. You want to make sure the skin has blackened all over and the insides are soft.
Leave to cool, scoop out the flesh and discard the skin. Finely chop the flesh.
In a large saucepan, heat a slug of olive oil then fry the onion for 5-10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic cloves and the cinnamon stick for the last few minutes of cooking.
Add the chopped tomatoes, eggplant flesh and stock and simmer for around 30 minutes with a lid on, stirring regularly. If you have less time, reduce the amount of stock and the cooking time, but ideally no less than 15 minutes.
Whilst the sauce is simmering, make the meatballs.
Put the bread into a pasta bowl or side plate and pour in enough milk over them to soak through. Leave for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess milk (until still wet but not dripping) then tear the bread into small pieces. Place in a mixing bowl.
Add all other meatball ingredients to the bowl and mix.
Shape the meat mixture into balls around 1/2 - 3/4 inch in diameter. Fry the meatballs with olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat until they color up all over. They don’t need to be cooked all the way through because they’ll finish in the sauce. Remove from the pan.
Once the sauce has had around 15-30 minutes simmering, add the meatballs. These should cook for around 15 minutes or until they’re cooked all the way through. In the final stages, keep the lid off to reduce the sauce until it’s thick and stir the meatballs occasionally, being careful not to break them up.
Serve with flatbreads.
Variations
The meat
I’ve used pork, lamb and beef - and even a mix, depending on what I can get my hands on.
Or you could do what I did the other day and replace the meatballs with chunks of leftover roast chicken. It was glorious.
Go meatless
You could use store-bought vegetarian meatballs but honestly, this sauce is SO GOOD, I’d recommend just making it without the meatballs, like an eggplant and tomato stew. You could add some of the meatball spice mix to the sauce if you like.
The spices
I would suggest keeping the cumin always, but you can play about with other spices too. Ras al Hanout would work well as would adding black cardamom to the sauce if you happen to have them (a tall order perhaps, but you never know).
The side dishes
I love flatbread with this because you can mop up all that sauce, but equally good is a side of rice or crusty bread.