photo by Christopher Fjelde

This is from my friend Debby Segura. Everything from her kitchen tastes good.

For the meatballs:
1 onion, minced
½ cup matzah meal
½ cup water
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the sauce:
2 cups canned tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
2 teaspoons cumin
¼ teaspoons cayenne
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 cup canned tomato purée
1 (15-ounce) can pitted green olives, drained

In a food processor, combine all the meatball ingredients except the olive oil. Pulse until well mixed. Form 1-inch round balls. Place olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot and heat. Add as many meatballs as possible without crowding and brown. Set aside. Repeat if necessary.

For sauce, place tomatoes with liquid in food processor and process until finely chopped. Heat oil in a medium-sized saucepan and sauté onions until translucent. Add the garlic, cumin, cayenne, pepper and cilantro and sauté five more minutes. Add the reserved meatballs, tomato purée and olives. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over couscous or rice.