Lamb meatballs with Moroccan-inspired stew

I am lucky to have regular access to Philadelphia's renowned Reading Terminal Market.  A new booth opened up over the summer--Border Springs Farm--and it specializes in pasture-raised lamb. They have both prepared foods and items from the butcher. I opted for a pound of ground lamb to take home and create something.  Other than making the occasional lamb burger, I rarely cook with lamb.  The good news is that it cooks at the same rate as ground beef.

The mister and I are participating in a 30 day nutrition challenge.  I'm avoiding gluten and sugar; he's doing the same, and he's also avoiding dairy. The focus of this challenge is to build a diet mostly of leafy greens and veggies (limited starches) and proteins.  

So, I scoured my many cookbooks looking for a ground lamb recipe. There were many lamb-based dishes, but few with ground lamb.  I came upon one for grilled lamb pops and decided to use this as a good starting point.  If you are a regular reader, you know that I rarely follow recipes to a T. Rather, I use them as an inspiration for a meal. 

We also had an abundance of sweet potatoes from our CSA and a never ending supply of tomatoes from our garden at home. I wanted to get them cooked up soon before they got soft and wilty.  So, I came upon another recipe for a Moroccan-flavored stew.  Here goes...

Grab two large pots. I used my Le Creuset wide  pan and the Dutch oven and put both on the stove top with a slice of bacon diced in each as well as some onions.  While these were warming up on the stove (slowly!), I began assembling the lamb meatballs. 

Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 egg
- 1/4 c. walnut meal (in place of breadcrumbs)
- garlic clove, smashed and diced
- chopped fresh herbs: mint, parsley, cilantro
- salt, pepper

Mix well with your hands and form into 1" balls.  Add to pan and cook on low/medium heat, moving around the pan until semi-firm (about 20 min). 

While the meatballs are cooking, begin work on the stew. Once done (about 20 minutes), turn off the heat and allow the meatballs to rest in the pan.

Ingredients:

- 1/4 c. onion diced

- 3 stalks of celery, diced (not in the original recipe, but I used them because I had them)
- 2 cups sweet potato, peeled, cut in 1" pieces (the recipe originally called for butternut squash, but I substituted this) 

- 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes 

- as many fresh cherry tomatoes as you wish

- 2 cups water (again, another substitution--original called for chicken broth and I had none)

- generous handful of raisins -- I used golden raisins

- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom 

- 1/8 teaspoon clove

We've already began cooking one slice of bacon and onions as we were preparing the meatballs.  This is now nicely oily and the onions are translucent.  Add the celery and sweet potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.  Pour in the can of diced tomatoes and add 2 cups of water.  Allow this to come to a boil and then simmer (with the lid on) for 20-30 minutes.  Begin to check the sweet potatoes for done-ness.  If they are still tough, continue cooking for another 10 minutes or so.  Add the raisins, garlic and all spices.  Transfer the meatballs and some pan fat to the stew.  Let the flavors mix for 10-15 minutes.  The stew will be brothy.  If you prefer a thicker stew, take the lid off and allow some liquid to cook off.  

Serve over pureed sweet potatoes (about 1/2 cup) or couscous.

Tomatoes and sweet potatoes simmering in the pot

Lamb meatballs added

As plated