Moroccan Meatball and Vegetable Ragout
Updated Jul 14, 2021, Published Feb 06, 2016
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Moroccan Meatball and Vegetable Ragout is serious meatball and vegetable goodness going on all at the same time! It’s sure to spice up any night with the tender spiced meatballs and onions, bell peppers and eggplant blanketed in a zesty tomato-based sauce.
It’s the “Big Game” weekend. Obviously, our Green Bay Packers tanked in the playoffs, so we’re meh on the whole thing. Hubby and I will just relax and watch the game by ourselves. The older you get the more you appreciate and savor quiet evenings. We’re old fogeys and proud of it! If you’re Super Bowlin’ it, have fun and be safe!
There’s nothing old fogey about this Moroccan-inspired dish! Tender spiced meatballs along with onions, bell peppers and eggplant are blanketed in a zesty tomato-based sauce. Sure to spice up any night!
Tips for cooking eggplant for Moroccan Meatball and Vegetable Ragout:
- Rather than cooking the eggplant in the sauce, I roast it separately. Eggplant is a sponge when it comes to oil and it can also take a while to cook.
- When using small eggplant, I generally don’t salt and drain it Small eggplant hasn’t had time to develop much bitterness. However, eggplant naturally has a slight pleasant bitterness.
- I used a large one here, so felt the dish would benefit from salting and draining the eggplant.
- When salting and seasoning the remainder of the dish, keep in mind that the eggplant already had salt on it, so you may not want to add a whole lot more. The meatballs need the salt; otherwise, they won’t stand up to the assertive flavors of the sauce.
Tips for making meatballs:
- When making meatballs, get all the ingredients except the ground meat mixed together first. This ensures all the ingredients–especially the seasonings–are evenly distributed.
- When I mix up any ground meat dish, I wear disposable gloves and mix with my hands to get the job done faster and more thoroughly.
- The best way I have found to portion and form meatballs is with a cookie dough scoop. I have several sizes and for these, I use my 1 1/2-inch scoop.
- Grab a handful of the meat mixture in one hand and the scoop in the other. Use the heel of the hand holding the meat mixture to level off the scoop.
- Empty the scoop on a baking sheet then go back and clean up the appearance by gently rolling between your hands.
- If you don’t have a large cookie dough scoop, press the meat into a rectangle shape on wax paper on your counter then cut into 24 even squares.
Serve Moroccan Meatball and Vegetable Ragout with couscous or quinoa spiked with a little curry powder. A dollop of yogurt wouldn’t be bad either!
More meatball recipes you’re sure to love:
- Turkish Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps with Tzatziki
- Turkey Meatballs in Beer Sauce
- Middle Eastern Spiced Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
- Pepper Jack Stuffed Meatballs with Chipotle Sauce
- Chicken Meatballs Marsala with Baked Parmesan Polenta
Moroccan Meatball and Vegetable Ragout
Moroccan Meatball and Vegetable Ragout is serious meatball and vegetable goodness going on! Sure to spice up any night with tender spiced meatballs along with onions, bell peppers and eggplant blanketed in a zesty tomato-based sauce.
Equipment
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 large eggplant, cubed
- 1 tablespoon salt, plus more for sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to tolerance
- 1 can (14.5-ounce) beef broth
- 1 can (15-ounce) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (8-ounce) tomato sauce
- Freshly ground black pepper
Meatballs
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup panko
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons water, broth or milk
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided
- 1 pound ground chuck
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Cooked couscous or quinoa
- Yogurt
Instructions
Sauce
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Place eggplant in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and let drain 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Toss eggplant with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Spread out onto a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until tender. Keep oven set at 375 degrees.
- While eggplant is roasting, heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until beginning to soften. Transfer half the onion to a bowl and let cool.
- Add the bell pepper to the skillet on the stovetop and continue cooking another 5 minutes or until beginning to soften.
- Stir in garlic, paprika, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook briefly (15 seconds).
- Add beef broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce.
- Bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes or until thickened. Add roasted eggplant, season to taste with salt and black pepper and keep warm.
Meatballs
- In the bowl with the reserved onions, combine garlic, paprika, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper, panko, egg, water (or broth or milk) and half the cilantro. Mix well then add beef.
- Form mixture into 1 to 1 1/2-inch balls. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until 165 degrees in the center.
To Finish
- Transfer meatballs to the sauce and adjust seasoning as desired. Simmer 5-10 minutes so all the flavors blend.
- Sprinkle with remaining fresh cilantro and serve.
Notes
The large onion will be used in both the meatballs and sauce. Cook the entire onion in the oil, then divide.
TIPS:
- When salting and seasoning the dish, remember that the eggplant already had salt on it, so you may not want to add much more.
- When making meatballs, mix all the ingredients except the ground meat together first. This ensures that all the ingredients–especially the seasonings–are evenly distributed.
- Can be made up to 2 days ahead.
- Place in a large baking dish and reheat in the oven at 350 degrees until bubbling.
- May also be reheated in a slow cooker.
- Cool completely and freeze in portions as desired.
- Thaw in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave, or oven or toaster oven at 350 degrees.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Calories: 663kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 17gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 1660mgPotassium: 645mgFiber: 5gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1413IUVitamin C: 85mgCalcium: 71mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
There’s nothing “old fogey” about you Carol. You’ve hit another Grand Slam (sorry, not a football fan but I do like baseball!) with this recipe – AS ALWAYS!!!! Your recipes are always made with a special touch that take them over the top.
Hi, Cheryl, Thank so very much and always great to hear from you and I always appreciate your kind words.
I just made and served this recipe. It is incredible! I was craving a hearty, autumn dish and this recipe was exactly what I needed. Thank you for sharing. *note-my family can’t handle a tsp of cayenne so I reduced it to a quarter tsp.
Will definitely make this again.
Thanks so much, Chriseda! So glad you enjoyed and adapted the recipe to your tastes. Please stay in touch!