Mtewem comes from Algiers, and its name tells you nearly everything: in Algerian Arabic it means, more or less, with garlic. There is garlic in the meatballs, garlic pounded with cumin and paprika into the sauce, and a gentle sweetness that only comes from garlic cooked slowly for an hour. Pieces of lamb go in first to give the sauce body, the meatballs follow, and a handful of chickpeas makes the whole thing generous enough for a table of relatives.

It is a fixture of the Ramadan table, when it often follows a bowl of chorba at the evening meal that breaks the fast, and it turns up at weddings and family celebrations too. The original Algiers version is cooked white, sometimes finished with toasted almonds; this is the red version, marqa hamra, that many families now cook at home, a touch warmer and very forgiving. A cook who is nervous of garlic will not be converted by this dish, but everyone else at the table will be.

The lamb and garlic sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) boneless lamb shoulder or beef chuck
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) sunflower or other neutral oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) butter or smen
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon harissa
• 4 cups (950 ml) boiling water
• 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) chickpeas
• 1 small handful flat leaf parsley

Method

1. Put the 6 garlic cloves and the salt in the mortar and pound them to a rough paste. Add the cumin, paprika and black pepper and pound for another 30 seconds so the spices are worked into the garlic. If you have no mortar, crush the cloves with the flat of a heavy knife, chop them very finely with the salt, and mix with the spices in a small bowl.
2. Heat the oil and butter in the pot over medium high heat. When the butter stops foaming, add the lamb pieces in a single layer and leave them for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn and brown the other sides for another 3 minutes.
3. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the grated onion and stir for 3 minutes. Add the garlic paste and stir constantly for 1 minute, then stir in the tomato paste and the harissa if using and cook for 1 minute more. Keep the spoon moving: garlic and paprika both scorch quickly.
4. Pour in the boiling water, scrape up anything stuck to the bottom of the pot, and bring it back to a boil. Turn the heat down so the sauce bubbles gently, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and simmer for 40 minutes. Make the meatballs while it cooks.

The garlic meatballs

Ingredients

• 2 slices white sandwich bread
• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) milk
• 1 lb (450 g) ground beef
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley

Method

1. Tear the bread into pieces into the small bowl, pour over the milk and leave for 3 minutes. Squeeze the bread firmly in your fist and drop it into the large bowl, leaving the excess milk behind.
2. Add the ground beef, grated garlic, egg, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and parsley to the bread. Mix with one hand, squeezing the mixture through your fingers, for about 1 minute, just until everything is evenly combined. Overmixing makes meatballs tough.
3. Wet your hands with cold water and roll the mixture into balls about the size of a walnut, 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) across. You should get about 24. Set them on the lined tray and chill for 15 minutes.

Bringing it together

Ingredients

Method

1. Stir the canned chickpeas into the sauce. Lower the meatballs in one at a time with a spoon, nudging them into a single layer. Do not stir for the first 5 minutes; just shake the pot gently so they settle and firm up.
2. Simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, turning the meatballs gently with a spoon after 10 minutes. The sauce should reduce by about half. Taste and add salt if it needs it. The meatballs are cooked when a thermometer in the center of one reads 160°F (71°C).
3. Turn off the heat, scatter over the chopped parsley and let the pot rest for 5 minutes before serving.

More from Algeria