Main Courses
Meatball and Cranberry Tagine
| 500g | lean beef mince |
| 1 | egg |
| 1 clove | garlic, crushed |
| 1 | onion, finely chopped |
| 2 tablespoons | olive oil |
| 1 teaspoon | cumin seeds |
| 1 teaspoon | ground coriander |
| ½ teaspoon | paprika |
| 1 teaspoon | yurmeric |
| 2 tablespoons | lemon juice |
| ½ cup (80g) | frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped |
| 2 cups (500mL) | chicken stock |
| 300g | kumara, cut into 2.5cm cubes |
| ¼ cup (15g) | coriander, roughly chopped |
| ¼ cup (15g) | mint, roughly chopped |
| salt and pepper to taste |
- Combine the mince, egg, garlic, salt and pepper and half the onion.
- Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls.
- Heat half the oil in a large non-stick frying pan.
- Add half the meatballs, fry until brown, remove.
- Repeat with the remaining meatballs, remove and set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan over low heat, add the remaining onion, stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the cumin, coriander, paprika and turmeric, stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the lemon juice, cranberries, stock, meatballs and kumara, bring to the boil, cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes or until the kumara is tender and sauce thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Serve sprinkled with the coriander and mint.
Tip: Serve with couscous and steamed green vegetables such as beans or peas, if desired.
Cooking with Cranberries - preparation tips
Always remember to:
- Cook frozen cranberries just until they pop. Longer cooking brings out their bitterness and makes them mushy.
- Do not use aluminium cookware when cooking cranberries as the berries' acid reacts with aluminium and causes it to discolour. Use stainless steel, glass or porcelain.
- Eliminate foaming and over boiling when cooking frozen cranberries by adding one teaspoon of butter.
Preparing cranberries:
- Chop cranberries in a food processor, using quick on/off pulses, to save time.
- When cooking, add a little salt or ¼ teaspoon baking soda or baking powder to cranberry sauce to reduce the amount of sugar needed and bring out the cranberry flavour.
- Soak dried cranberries in warm water, orange juice or a liqueur for 20 to 30 minutes to get plumper berries which can be used as a substitute for frozen or fresh cranberries in many recipes.
- For baked goods (i.e. muffins, cakes or slices), chop frozen cranberries and toss them with sugar before stirring into the batter to improve sweetening.
