Meatballs with Saffron Sunset Sauce

Name: Meatballs with Saffron Sunset Sauce (Chems al Aachi, or Boulettes de Viande et Sauce Crépuscule)
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: ½ cup water; 1 teaspoon powdered chicken stock, or 1 bouillon cube, crushed, or cup chicken broth; steamed rice for serving; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 teaspoon powdered chicken stock, or 1 bouillon cube, crushed, or cup chicken broth; 1 teaspoon powdered chicken stock, or 1 bouillon cube, crushed, or cup chicken broth; 3 cloves garlic, minced; ¼ cup olive oil; 1 teaspoon sweet paprika; 1 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped; 2 pounds ground beef; ½ teaspoon ground mace; ½ cup dried bread crumbs; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 3 russet potatoes (about 1 ½ pounds), peeled and shredded; 1 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed and infused in ½ cup hot water; 1 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed and infused in ½ cup hot water; salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Chems al Aachi, or Boulettes de Viande et Sauce Crépuscule

Preparation info

Serves
8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Saffron Shores

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 2002

About

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef
3 russet potatoes (about 1 ½ pounds), peeled and

Africa
Morocco
Main course
Mediterranean

Method

The Arab name of this dish, chems el aachi, means “setting sun” because the golden color of the sauce is reminiscent of a glorious sunset in Morocco. Vegetable-enriched meatballs are part the Sephardic culinary tradition of thrift. Here, grated potatoes help to stretch the amount of meat needed to make people feel satisfied. Interestingly enough, in John Cooper’s Eat and Be Satisfied<