It’s fall y’all, and this recipe is perfect for tailgating, Sunday supper, or cozying up on the sofa and watching your favorite shows!

Meatballs in a red sauce are a classic combo that pops up in cuisines all over the world, from Italian pork meatballs in marinara sauce to Spanish albóndigas in chunky romesco sauce. Although meatballs are not a traditional dish of Morocco, the presence of mint, parsley, cinnamon and cumin in these gives them a strong North African accent.

If your forward thinking enough to  make a double batch of these meatballs, you’ll have leftovers for a quick weeknight meal later this month.  The tomato sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month. The meatballs can be formed and refrigerated overnight or frozen for up to 1 month. To freeze, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for 2 hours before transferring to a sealable plastic bag. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before baking.

Ingredients:
Adapted From William Sonoma

For the tomato sauce

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
• 2-inch (5-cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbs. ground cumin
• 1 Tbs. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 can (28 oz./875 g) crushed tomatoes
• 1 Tbs. firmly packed brown sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 Tbs. chopped fresh mint leaves

For the meatballs

• Olive oil for greasing
• 1 1/2 lb. (750 g) ground lamb or lean grass fed ground beef
• 1/4 cup (1/3 oz./10 g) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbs. ground cumin
• 1 Tbs. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups (9 oz./280 g) Israeli couscous

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