Persian Lamb Meatballs with Tomato Rice

Serves: 4 • Prep Time: 30 min • Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

Rice

• 1 1/2 cups Rice
• 2 1/4 cups Water
• 1 8oz can Tomato paste
• 1/8 tsp Turmeric
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Meatballs

• 2 pounds ground lamb
• 4 oz. Spinach
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup Almond meal or Almond flour
• 2 Tablespoons Cilantro, chopped (plus some for garnish)
• 2 tsp Baharat spice
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Coriander
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive oil

Sauce

• 4 Carrots, finely chopped
• 4 stalks Celery, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 16 oz. Chicken broth
• remaining Tomato paste
• 4 oz. Spinach

Instructions

1. Finely chop 4 oz. (half) of the spinach. (Set remaining 4 oz. aside for sauce.)
2. Whisk eggs in medium bowl. Mix in almond meal, cilantro, spinach, Baharat, coriander, cumin, salt, and pepper.
3. Add ground lamb to egg mixture and combine well. Using food-safe gloves or wet hands, roll into 1 inch meatballs.
4. In a medium sized pot cook 1/2 of tomato paste and all of turmeric on low until fragrant. Stir in water and mix well, then add rice. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for about 18 minutes. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste, mix with fork and set aside.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet on medium high. Brown meatballs evenly but don’t cook them completely through. Transfer meatballs to a plate.
6. Keep the pan hot and use the pan juices to saute the carrots, celery, and onion until they begin to soften. Add the rest of the tomato paste, then stir in the chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Add meatballs back to the skillet and bring everything to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When meatballs are cooked through, mix in remaining spinach.
8. Serve meatballs on top of rice. Garnish with remaining cilantro.