Maybe it’s the fact that we’ve just finished eating a week’s worth of Thanksgiving leftovers, coupled with the fact that we’re gearing up for Christmas dinner with it’s requisite ham and the cheesey goodness of broccoli-rice casserole, but my kids and I are finding that American fare is holding little appeal for us these days.

My kids are fairly adventurous eaters. Okay, so Ethan gags if he doesn’t like a certain texture, Ramie “just isn’t a bread person,” Mason’s diet consists of maily beige and white, and Riley goes vegetarian a couple of times a year. But I’ve introduced them to a wide variety of cuisines from all over the world with surprisingly favorable results.

Last week, as we were staring at a freezer bag filled with the last of the turkey chowder, Riley, Ethan, and I looked at eachother and, as if the thought emanated from the freezer along with the cold air and wafted into our ears and then our brains, we declared in unison, “Kefta!”

Kefta are mediterranean meatballs that can be found from Morocco to Persia (okay, not actually found, as in–oh, looky there! Kefta, right behind that rock! You know what I meant). And they happen to be one of our favorite meals. In fact, Ethan has declared on more than one occasion that kefta is definitely his favorite meal, most recently about 2 hours ago, as we were scarfing down on a delicious lunch of kefta, couscous, flatbread, and tabouleh.

I always believed my version was Moroccan–I gleaned the basics from an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, which was perfect for me because there was no technical “recipe”: he basically just narrated as the cameraguy filmed an old man in Marakesh making it.  Then I met a young man from Morocco at the Moroccan pavillion at EPCOT and talk quickly turned to–you guessed it—kefta. He chided me for not using egg in my recipe. “The old Moroccan guy on tv didn’t use egg,” I told him. He shook his head at me. “You must use egg. After you let the meat sit, before you roll it, then you mix it in.” So I do…sometimes.  Truth is, I’m not crazy about the feeling of raw dead cow between my fingers—it’s a necessary evil if I want kefta—and then to add raw egg on top of it, GACK! 

Last year I met another Moroccan chef who told me that if I put mint in my kefta, then it’s not Moroccan–it’s Persian. Hold the phone—the old guy on tv used mint. The Moroccan guy at EPCOT was cool with the mint. I like mint—dare I say, I LOVE mint. So I’m not sure how authentic my recipe is, but it works for us.

So here, for your culinary delight, is my UNrecipe for kefta.  Consider it my Christmas gift to you!

KEFTA

2 lbs. ground meat—beef, lamb, or some combination of the two (I use beef. Riley once raised a lamb for an ag project. In case you’re not familiar with Ag projects, they culminate at auction, or ‘market.’ When the nursery rhyme says, “This little piggy went to market,” I don’t think she went shopping for a new pair of shoes. Riley knew from the outset that “auction” meant “pass the mint jelly,” and she insisted that she was totally okay with that…until the word “SOLD!” exited the auctioneer’s lips, at which point she commenced with the wailing. She wailed for weeks. And to this day, when we go eat mediterranean food she makes me verify with the server that there is no lamb in whatever she orders).

Oh—don’t use pork. Just don’t. I mean, it’s your kitchen and all, but if you use pork you are definitely not making Kefta. And if you DO ignore my imploration and use pork anyway, don’t invite your Moroccan (or Persian) friends to come sample the Kefta you just made (which is not really Kefta). Seriously, it would be a really, really bad idea.

Okay….meat. Check. Next:

Herbs: 1 bunch parsley, 2 bunches cilantro, 2 of the small herb clamshells of fresh mint. Chop them all up finely. If you use the food processor, you can just add the seasonings in as well.

Seasonings: garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper. That question that’s on your mind right now—the answer is, “Heck, I dunno. How much do you want to use?” I go really light on the cayenne, because E & Ra can’t handle too much spice.

Oh–salt. Don’t forget salt. Use your best judgement.

Mix it all together with the meat. Refrigerate for about an hour, a couple of hours if you have time. At this point, you have to decide whether you’re going to go with my buddy from EPCOT, or with the old guy on Anthony Bourdain. Today, I didn’t do the egg. It worked out fine. Maybe if you’re using really lean meat, you should listen to my Disney buddy and go for the egg.

SAUCE: 

2 large cans crushed tomatoes

garlic powder

coriander

cumin

salt

paprika (I like a lot. I’m not sure why, it just seems right)

cinnamon (just a sprinkle. Maybe….1/8 tsp?)

Mix sauce ingredients in a big cookpot on the stove and heat. Oh–I forgot, this is a really big batch, so you might need to divide the sauce between 1 pots, & put half the meatballs in each. Or you can just stack them. Either way.

Make meatballs, add to the pot, and simmer covered. I dunno…30ish minutes? 45? You’re probably a better judge of that than I am—I have no concept of time.

If you were a real Moroccan making these in Morocco, you’d use a Tagine, which is a conical clay thing that kind of steams stuff. I don’t have one. I really want one. If you ever happen to be in Morocco and you’re trying to decide what to bring me as a souvenir, there’s an idea for you. Just give me a heads up so I can have all the ingredients on hand when you bring it by, so I can whip up a fresh batch to thank you.

Serve with couscous. I don’t have a teriffic couscous recipe. I make the kind that comes in the box. I don’t love it. I love real couscous, the kind with raisins and some savory sweet spice that I as yet have been unable to identify. If you have a stellar couscous recipe and feel like sharing, I would totally love that.

Oh–and flatbread. You have to have flatbread to sop up all the glorious sauce. Toufan makes a decent flatbread that you can probably find near the pitabread in your store. Technically, it is pita—not the dried out “pocket bread” pita that you stuff with tuna and sprouts. If your grocery store doesn’t carry it, find a Greek restaurant (or mediterranean if you’re so lucky as to have one nearby) and ask them if they’ll sell you a couple of packages. My local Greek restaurant sells them to me for about $4 a package.

Merry Christmas! Enjoy your Kefta!

Tags: couscous, kefta, Morocco, tabouleh, tagine, Thanksgiving, turkey