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Beef Meatballs with Fava Beans & Lemon

Filed Under: Meat Meals

Beef Meatballs with Fava Beans & Lemon
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Ingredients
  1. 4½ tbsp olive oil
  2. 2.5 cups/350g broad (aka fava) beans, fresh or frozen
  3. 4 whole thyme sprigs
  4. 6 garlic cloves, sliced
  5. 8 spring onions, cut at an angle into 3/4" segments
  6. 2½ tbsp lemon juice
  7. 2 cups/500ml chicken stock
  8. salt and black pepper
  9. a handful of fresh herbs (dill, mint, parsley and/or cilantro)
Meatballs
  1. 1 lb minced beef
  2. 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  3. 1 cup breadcrumbs
  4. 2 Tbsp each chopped flat-leaf parsley, mint, dill and coriander, plus ½ tbsp extra of each to finish the dish
  5. 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
  6. 1 Tbsp ground cumin
  7. 2 tsp capers, chopped
  8. 1 egg, beaten
Baharat spice mix for the meatballs
  1. 3/4 tsps each of ground black pepper, cumin and cinnamon
  2. 1/4 tsps each of ground coriander and ground cloves and ground nutmeg
Instructions
  1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Put the fava beans in the boiling water and give them a stir. Let them cook for about 2 minutes, then remove them from the heat, drain, and rinse them well with very cold water until they are cool. Remove the outer skins from the beans and set the beans aside.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together all meatball ingredients. Don't forget the salt and pepper. (You can try to use a wooden spoon, but the most effective way to do it is to use your hands.) Form the mixture into balls of about one tablespoon- just a bit smaller than a ping pong ball.
  3. In a large, heavy skillet (cast iron is perfect), heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Brown half of the meatballs at a time, making sure to get a nice deep brown on them. You'll probably have to add another tablespoon of oil to the pan between batches. Remove all the meatballs from the pan and set them aside.
  4. Heat the remaining olive oil in the pan, over medium heat. Add the thyme, garlic, and green onions and saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, add in the juice of half of the lemon, 1/3 cup of the stock, and some more salt and pepper to taste. Let bubble away for a few minutes, then put the meatballs back in the pan, along with the remaining stock, and simmer gently, covered, for 25 minutes. If at the end of that time, the sauce is still very runny, uncover and reduce the sauce a bit.
  5. Right before serving, stir in the fava beans, the rest of the lemon juice (half of the lemon) and the rest of the herbs.
Notes
  1. Not included in Large Real Food Boxes: Chicken Stock, Salt & Pepper, Bread Crumbs, Cumin, Capers, "Baharat Spice Mix" (always includes black pepper and typically has cumin, cinnamon, and cloves, among other spices)
Adapted from Jerusalem
Adapted from Jerusalem
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