Moroccan lamb meatballs

1 pound ground lamb, room temperature
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup almond meal (optional, and bread crumbs would be fine if you're not being gluten-free)
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons dried peppermint (I stole it out of my tea jar)
1 or 2 tablespoons ras el hanout spice mix. (See below)
the zest from one lemon, chopped fine
one tablespoon fresh ginger root, chopped fine

mix ingredients gently, trying not to overwork the meat.

Pan-fry in a couple tablespoons of olive oil on all sides (6-10 minutes total or so), then bake at 200°F for 20 minutes.


Ras el hanout
There's no one perfect recipe, but mine was approximately equal parts of:

fresh toasted cumin seed, ground afterward
fresh toasted coriander seed, ground afterward
cinnamon
garlic powder
ginger root powder
paprika
mustard seed, toasted and ground

plus pinches of turmeric, clove and allspice, and a grating of nutmeg.

Cold eggplant and mushroom relish

1 eggplant, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
5 or 6 mushrooms, small dice
1 shallot or 1/3 red onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon ras el hanout spice mix
garlic to taste

Sautee in olive oil (rather a lot -- a quarter cup or more is awesome)

Add a half can of diced tomatoes, and salt to taste. Sautee until starting to dry again.

Serve cold.

Mint-tomato sauce

1/4 cup peppermint leaves
1 small can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato puree or crush.
1 tablespoon ras el hanout, or at least cumin, cinnamon and clove
salt and pepper to taste.

Cook in a pan greased with olive oil, letting it start to caramelize around the edges between stirs (it should look like "barely beginning to stick" each time, and have the pleasant hissing noise of fresh moisture hitting a hot pan as you stir.

Serve over cous-cous with meatballs.