I’ve been making these moroccan meatballs at least once a month for well over a year now, and I’ve finally hunkered down and written it up all formal-like to share with you, here. Sometimes when I make something a lot just for regular eating, the idea of making it for the blog is a little less exciting since it doesn’t have that sparkly “oh-a-new-recipe!” shine to it, and my mind tends to want to make and shoot things that I don’t look at on the regular. Call it creative stubbornness, but that’s how the left side of my brain works.

My right side, however, understands that often times the things you make and eat the most are the best (hence why you make and eat them all the time). These moroccan meatballs are made with local pork, a delicious array of spices, some chopped onion, a hefty dose of chopped dates, and an egg for moisture. If you ever have dry meatballs, it’s because they need an egg and a bit of oil in them. These two ingredients are a must! The meatballs are very easy to make, just toss everything together and roast them in the oven on a sheet pan. I always serve them alongside a yogurt dipping sauce and roasted broccolini, which is equally as easy to make. Just stir together yogurt, lemon juice, and salt, and voila! And just toss the broccolini with some oil, salt, and pepper, throw it on a pan in the oven, and there you have it!

As for the seasonings, there’s quite a few exotic spices and mixtures here, but I promise that you can find all of them at your local organic market. The only two that *may* be trickier are garam masala, which is an Indian spice blend, and za’atar, which is one of those things that multiple countries claim to be the original source of, but most agree than it originally came from Lebanon. If you can’t find them, you can omit them and the meatballs will once be a tad bit lesser for it. But if you can find them, I highly recommend playing around with adding them to savory dishes in your day-to-day cooking. Their flavor is so intense and wonderful, it’s hard to find anything savory that they don’t make taste better.

The ingredients in this dish aren’t exclusively Moroccan, but they’re inspired by the flavors of the region in general, (especially the bit with the chopped up dates). Morocco is a predominantly Muslim country, and this recipe calls for pork, but I’ve also made it with lamb and it tastes just as delicious. So whatever your dietary restriction, feel free to sub in a different protein as-needed! The important thing here is to use quality spices, as they’re what gives these meatballs that extra depth and incredible flavor. Enjoy it, my friends!