Beef & couscous meatballs

Another day another recipe for meatballs! Yum! I love meatballs. This latest version happened quite serendipitously. I had some beef minced and was thinking about making meatballs. I thought about soutzoukakia with rice but didn't want to take the time to cook rice. My container of couscous was on the bench because I had just filled it up with a new stock. So I thought of using couscous with the beef. The mixture ended up a bit dry so I added some ricotta. They were absolutely yummy with a reminder of middle eastern food.



Ingredients
600 gr minced beef
1/2 cup couscous
1/2 cup water
Cummin seeds
4 spring onions
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 heaped tablespoon ricotta
1 egg
Pepper
Olive oil
Separately prepared tomato sauce
Shaved parmesan

Mode

Prepare the tomato sauce and simmer on stovetop
Bring water to boil and take from heat
Add couscous to water and set aside
Crush garlic and chop spring onions
Place meat, spring onions, garlic, cummin, egg, ricotta and pepper in bowl and mix
Fluff up couscous with fork and add to meat mixture
Mix meat and couscous mixture thoroughly preferably with hands
Using a tablespoon for mixture form in into soutzoukakia shaped meatballs (ie long)
Heat olive oil in a pan
Quickly seal the meatballs in batches and add to pan of tomato sauce
Simmer in tomato sauce for about 30 minutes on stove top or bake in oven for about 45 minutes
Serve topped with shaved parmesan.