One of my most fun sources of inspiration is different cooking competitions on The Food Network. This dish is inspired by what I would cook for a challenge to make a dish highlighting spherical shapes, which I believe I saw on Alex vs. America? The meatballs are a sphere, the couscous (or acini de pepe) is a sphere, and, of course, I was so committed to the challenge that I rolled goat cheese into little spheres. I think I won, right?!
The meatballs are filled with parsley, mint, dill, and chives, then spiced with za’atar – you will love them!
The plate is gorgeous, and the flavors are perfectly balanced! You’ll love the combo of the herby meatballs, the earthy zaatar, the bright and spicy red pepper sauce with the tangy goat cheese. Finished with arugula and a squeeze of lemon – can you stand it?!
Herby Meatballs with Red Pepper Harissa Cous Cous
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground beef lamb would be great, too
- ¼ cup dill finely chopped
- ¼ cup parsley finely chopped
- ¼ cup chives finely chopped
- ¼ cup mint finely chopped
- 2 T za’atar
- 1 tsp salt
Red Pepper Harissa Sauce:
- 2 bell peppers
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 medium shallot
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 T spicy harissa
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
Serving
- Goat Cheese
- Arugula
Instructions
Roasted Red Pepper Harissa Couscous
- Preheat oven to 450 F
- Season peppers, tomatoes, shallot, and garlic in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast at 450 until peppers are nice and charred on the top
- Blend up with harissa and any juices / oil left in the pan
- Adjust salt to taste
- Mix in with couscous or acini di pepe pasta with 1 T butter and pasta water as needed
Herby Meatballs:
- For the meatballs, combine all ingredients in a bowl and gently mix until fully combined. You don't want to overwork the meatballs.
- Form meat mixture into 1 inch balls and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- In a stainless steel or cast iron pan, heat 2 T olive oil over medium-high heat and sear meatballs, shaking the pan regularly to maintain their round shape and get an even sear on all sides. Cover or transfer to oven until cooked through (about 8-12 minutes)
Serving
- Serve the meatballs over the couscous with arugula and goat cheese which you can just crumble, but I rolled it into balls as you see in the picture!