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Eat well

Moroccan spiced meatballs with herby brown rice

Bring a bit of North African sunshine to your table with these meatballs in spicy tomato sauce

Moroccan spiced meatballs with herby brown rice

Meal type: Main meal

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

  1. For meatballs: place minced beef, onion, garlic (if using), half of the red chilli and 1 1/2 teaspoons Ras El Hanout spice mixture in a bowl. Mix well. Using lightly floured hands, form mixture into 14 small meatballs.
  2. Heat rapeseed oil in a non-stick saucepan. Add meatballs; cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer meatballs to a plate.
  3. Add remaining chilli and Ras El Hanout spice to pan, along with red or yellow pepper; cook gently for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, tomato purée and stock; bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
  4. Return meatballs to pan; cover and simmer for a further 25 minutes or until meatballs are cooked and sauce has thickened slightly (remove lid and increase heat slightly for last 10 minutes, to thicken sauce). Stir in coriander just before serving.
  5. Meanwhile, cook rice. Put rice and stock into a separate saucepan (use ample stock – refer to rice packet for guidance on how much stock to use). Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer gently for 20–25 minutes (or according to packet) or until rice is cooked. Drain well. Stir in chopped herbs, black pepper and lemon zest (if using).
  6. Serve cooked rice with meatballs and sauce spooned over the top.

Nutritional Information

Each Portion Contains:

Energy 2575kJ 613kcal 31%
Carbs 72.5g -
Fat 18.3g Low 26%
Saturates 5.6g Low 28%
Sugar 15.3g Low 17%
Salt 2g Low 33%

% = an adult's reference intake

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Ingredients

For the meatballs

225g (8oz) extra lean minced beef (5% fat)

1 small red onion, grated

1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)

1 small fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

3 tsp Ras El Hanout spice (a Moroccan spice mix, see Cook's tips)

A little plain flour, for dusting

2 tsp rapeseed oil or olive oil

1 red or yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped

400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes in rich natural juice

1 tbsp tomato puree

100ml (3 1/2fl oz) homemade or reduced-salt vegetable stock

1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

 

For the herby brown rice

150g (5 1/2oz) easy-cook wholegrain rice

About 600ml (1 pint) homemade or reduced-salt vegetable stock

2-3 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 - 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest (optional)

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