Lovers of pomegranate will want to try a sparkling Pomegranate French 75! My kids are always begging me to make meatballs for dinner but I’m usually reluctant to oblige. They always seemed so finicky to me. All that rolling and then frying…just the thought of it made me tired. That being said I also refuse to buy already made meatballs as they always seem to be of the worst quality-too bland and too fatty. Sometimes all you need is a little bit of inspiration. To find that, I looked into the cuisine of Central Asia. With incredible use of spices, fruit and a genius approach to herbs, it’s a cuisine that deserves a lot more attention. The recipe came from the Central Asian region of the former USSR and I had it bookmarked for ages. It all came together so well! The meatballs are juicy and jam packed with flavour, while the pomegranate sauce is luxuriously fragrant. Add a bit of spice and a liberal use of herbs and you have a stunningly good meal!
Meatballs and Sweet and Sour Sauce
For the meatballs I used the combination of both extra lean beef and pork. Sumac, cayenne pepper and fresh cilantro was added to the meat mixture to make it spicier. If you like sweet and sour sauces, you will fall in love with this pomegranate sauce, that the meatballs are glazed in. The taste is both nostalgically familiar and excitingly new. It reminds us of sweet and sour dishes we grew up eating but is somehow different. Pomegranate updates this sauce with a much more complex and sophisticated flavour we knew nothing about back in the 80s. Another reason to love this recipe is it’s QUICK! I know, friends, I just told you that I always thought that meatball making is a long and tedious business. However, when I finished I realised that the whole process took me 1 hour from start to finish. I served these meatballs piled on top of fluffy couscous, and you don’t need me to tell you that couscous takes no time at all to prepare! These meatballs were an absolute hit with the family! You know that moment when dinner conversation ceases and all you hear is the sound of people chewing? Expect that!
