Turkish inspired meatball pomegranate stew
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Author:
Vidar Bergum
Servings
3
Cook Time
1 hour
Deliciously tangy stew inspired by a traditional stew from Southeastern Turkey.
Ingredients
- 2-4 Tbsp butter, or olive oil
- 400 g shallots, peeled (but kept whole)
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses, see recipe notes below for alternative
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- water
- flat-leaf parsley (Italian parsley), roughly chopped, to garnish (optional)
Meatballs
- 400 g minced beef, lamb or a mix (min. 20% fat)
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Directions
In a bowl, mix all the meatball ingredients. Shape to meatballs roughly the same size as the shallots.
- Heat a thick bottomed pot over medium heat. Fry the onion in 2 Tbsp butter until just beginning to soften, stirring regulary, 5-6 minutes. Remove the onion to a plate and set aside.
- Brown the meatballs in the same pot, adding more butter if necessary. The meatballs only need to colour and don’t need to be cooked through at this stage. Remove the meatballs to a plate, but keep the fats/juices in the pot.
- Add tomato paste to the pot and fry for about a minute, stirring constantly. Add 200 ml (⅘ cup) water, pomegranate molasses and ground cinnamon. Stir well and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add back the onions and meatballs (along with any juices that have run out). Bring to the boil, then lower the heat to low and cook covered until the meatballs are cooked through and the onions completely softened, around half an hour. Add more water if the sauce is looking very dry, but don't add too much – by the end of cooking you want to be left with a thick, intensely flavoured sauce. Season again to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve the meatballs hot, garnished with a little flat-leaf parsley, if you like
Recipe Note
When purchasing pomegranate molasses, look for bottles which are 100% pomegranate. A good pomegranate molasses should be more sour than sweet, but unfortunately a lot of cheaper substitutes based on glucose syrup abound.
If you don't have pomegranate molasses, substitute 2 Tbsp lemon juice + 1 Tbsp honey. It won't taste the same, but will also be delicious.
1
/
of
2