Lamb Kofta b'siniyah

Let's face it. Anyone and their great Aunt Sally can grab some Brie, grab a baguette, hack it up, bring it to a party and call it good. And it's as equally true that the guy who brings brie is usually a pretty popular guy (especially in my family). But there are some occasions when the urge arises to go a little above and beyond the cheese-plate call of duty. Here is a recipe for one of those occasions. 

Because everyone loves the meatball guy.

Leave it to Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's amazing Jerusalem cookbook to deliver an amazing, flavorful Middle-Eastern meatball with a delicious tahini dipping sauce. There are so many complex spices and flavors, pan-seared and baked to a perfect finish. Peter and I whipped these up and brought them to our friend's birthday party. They did not, I might add, last the night.

Lamb Kofta b'sniniyah (From Jerusalem)

For sauce:
2/3 cup tahini paste
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 medium clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp sunflower oil
toasted pine nuts for garnish
finely chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnish
sweet paprika
1/4 tsp salt

For meatballs:
14 oz. ground lamb (or if lamb's not your thing, go all beef)
14 oz. ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
7 Tbsp toasted pine nuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 large medium-hot red chile, seeded, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
3/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt

Put all the meatball ingredients together in a bowl and, using your hands, mix together well. Mix together in long, torpedo-like fingers (see picture). Press the mix to compress it, make sure each meatball is tight. Arrange on plate and chill until ready to cook.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients--except for parsley, pine nuts, and paprika. Sauce should be a bit runnier than honey; add 1-2 T water if needed.

Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan over high heat and sear the kofta. Do this in batches so they are not cramped. Sear them on all sides until golden brown, about 6 minutes per batch. At this point, they should be medium-rare. Arrange the medium-rare meatballs on a baking sheet. If you want to cook them a bit more to medium or well, bake them for an additional 2-4 minutes.

When ready to serve, garnish the sauce with some of the parsley, paprika and pine nuts. Spoon the sauce around the meatballs (and a little over them, if you like). Scatter the rest of the pine nuts, parsley and paprika. Serve immediately and enjoy!