The world’s tenth largest country is Algeria which is situated in North Africa. The country is made up of 90% desert and it borders the Mediterranean Sea.
Mediterranean cuisine became popular in 1975 in America when nutrition and healthy cooking became popular. Mediterranean cuisine stems from the cultures and foods grown all around the Mediterranean Sea.
Eating a Mediterranean diet promotes good health and weight loss. It also reduces the risk of cancer, cardiovascular, parkinson’s and alzheimer’s disease.
This is a recipe by Jacqueline Senouci inspired by her Algerian husband.
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef (Halaal Beef can be used instead)
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup finely chopped onion, divided
3 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon ras el hanout (optional – a North African spice)
½ cup water
Method
1. Mix the ground beef with half of the minced garlic and a tablespoon of chopped onion. Mix with your hands until all of the ingredients are combined. The mix makes 12-14 meatballs, role the meat into patties.
2. Heat a pan over medium-high heat and fry the meatball-patties in a bit of oil until the meat is no longer pink in the middle.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the rest of the onion to the pan, adding some salt and pepper for taste and also add the garlic.
4.Stir the tomatoes, dried parsley, ras el hanout and water into the onion and garlic and cook until the tomatoes softens. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatballs and serve.
