Recipe Daoud Pasha ( Lebanese Meatballs)

[karadekoolaid]

I had a yearning for Middle-eastern food yesterday. I don´t know why; perhaps because I haven´t eaten any for a long while. Off to the supermarket to buy pita bread, some aubergines for home-made babaghanush, handfuls of parsley and fresh mint for salad and half a kilo of minced beef. Originally I´d thought to make some fried kibbe, but then I remembered a recipe from years ago which I thought was Syrian, but is apparently popular in many other countries. Yes, it´s just another meatball recipe, but the yummy thing about this one is the lemon juice in the tomato sauce.
Ingredients:
500 gms minced beef
2 slices of bread, crusts removed
1 egg, beaten (optional)
1tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 large onions
Olive oil or ghee
50-60 gms pine nuts
200 gms ( approx) tomato paste
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsps chopped flat leaf parsley
Method:

1. Grind or pound the meat until it is very smooth. Place in a large bowl.
2. Soak the bread in water, then squeeze as dry as possible. Add to the mince along with the beaten egg, the spices and half a large onion, very finely diced. Mix together well .
3. Make the meatballs by hand and set aside. (This amount made 25 meatballs).
4. Put some oil or ghee in a large pan. Slice the onions in thin half-moons ( julienne) and fry gently in the oil. Add the meatballs and continue frying gently, moving the pan frequently so the meatballs brown evenly. (You may have to fry in two batches).
5. Remove all the meatballs and onion and reserve the oil. Add the pine nuts to the oil and fry gently for about 2 minutes.
6. Now add the tomato paste and a little water to create a sauce. Return the meatballs to the pan, along with the onions, and cook through until the sauce thickens and reduces a little. You may want to add a bit more water if the sauce reduces too much.
7. Finally, add the lemon juice and the parsley. Stir and taste, seasoning additionally if required.