Ketzitzot
Meatballs in Tahini Sauce
Ketzitzot are small meatballs widely eaten in Israel,
either by themselves, with tahini or even with tomato sauce. They are
apparently Moroccan in origin. There are, as you can imagine, quite a
few recipes, and I combined a couple simply because I felt I had to.
The first batch I made was sort of blah, mostly because it needed more salt. The second batch was much better - so be generous with your use of salt. I wasn't thrilled with the tahini sauce, it was a bit too bitter - maybe it was because I used bottled orange juice instead of fresh. Still, this was a nice meal and a change of pace for us.
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Meatballs in Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 cup tahini
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- salt to taste
For the Meatballs
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
- 1 small onion, grated
- 1 1/2 cups chopped parsley, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbsp bread crumbs
- 2 tsp sumac
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- salt & pepper to taste
- olive oil for sauteing
Directions
Place the tahini, garlic cloves, water, lemon juice and salt in the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more water or lemon juice if necessary. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, onion, 1 cup parsley, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, sumac, cumin and salt and pepper. Using your hands, form into smallish American football shaped balls.
Heat olive oil in a frying or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, turn heat down and keep sauteing until cooked through. Transfer to a serving plate and drizzle tahini sauce on top. Sprinkle remaining parsley and serve.
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Adapted from Mara's recipe at Kosher on a Budget
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