Meatballs with Pine Nuts in Tomato Sauce
- 2 medium onions
- 1½ pounds lean ground lamb
- salt and pepper
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 2/3 cup pine nuts
- vegetable oil
- 2 pounds tomatoes, peeled or not
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed (optional)
Instructions:
Serve it with plain or Vermicelli Rice.
- Grate or fi nely chop the onions in the food processor, drain, and turn them into a bowl. Add the ground lamb with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and allspice, and work into a paste with your hands. Roll the paste into small walnut-size balls. Make a hole in each ball with your fi nger, stuff the cavity with a few pine nuts, and close the hole. Alternatively, and more easily, work the pine nuts into the meat paste, then roll it into balls.
- Put a little oil in a soup plate and roll the meatballs in it. Put them in a baking dish and bake in an oven preheated to 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes, until their color changes.
- For the sauce, cut up the tomatoes and liquefy them in the food processor or blender. Add a little salt and pepper, the sugar, and garlic, if using, and pour over the meatballs. Bake them for another 35 minutes, turning the meatballs over once.