Mtewem

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 400 gminced lamb (or half lamb, half beef)
• 1 slicestale bread, crusts off, soaked in milk and squeezed
• 1egg
• 3garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 1 handfulflat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tspsalt

Stew

• 500 glamb shoulder, cut into 4 cm pieces
• 3 tbspsmen or 50 g butter
• 2 tbspsunflower oil
• 2whole heads of garlic, about 24 cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
• 1onion, grated
• 1 tspwhite pepper
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1cinnamon stick
• 200 gcooked chickpeas
• 1.2 litreswater
• salt

To finish

• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 handfulchopped parsley
• kesra or khobz dar, to serve

Directions

1. Work the minced lamb with the squeezed bread, egg, crushed garlic, cinnamon, pepper, parsley and salt for 2 minutes, until the mixture is sticky and holds together, then roll into small balls the size of a walnut and chill them.
2. Melt the smen with the oil in a heavy pot over medium-low heat and turn the lamb pieces in it for 5 minutes without letting them brown; mtewem is a white stew.
3. Add the grated onion, white pepper, ground cinnamon and cinnamon stick and sweat for 8 minutes until the onion melts into the fat.
4. Tip in all the peeled garlic cloves whole and cook them gently for 4 to 5 minutes, turning, until they soften and smell sweet rather than raw; the quantity is deliberate, since mtewem takes its name from toum, garlic.
5. Pour in the water, add the chickpeas, season lightly with salt, bring to a bare simmer and skim.
6. Cover and cook at the gentlest simmer for 45 minutes, until the meat gives easily under a spoon.
7. Lower the chilled meatballs into the simmering broth one at a time and poach uncovered for 20 minutes, without stirring, until they float and are cooked through.
8. Reduce over medium heat for a final 10 minutes, until the sauce is glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon, and the garlic cloves have collapsed into it.
9. Add the lemon juice off the heat, taste for salt, scatter with parsley and rest 10 minutes before serving with bread to catch the garlic sauce.

Technique

• Two whole heads of garlic is not a misprint. Cooked whole and slowly, the cloves turn sweet and creamy, and the sauce tastes rich rather than pungent.
• The meatballs go in late and are never stirred; stirring breaks them and clouds the white sauce.
• Soaked bread rather than breadcrumbs keeps the meatballs light. Dry crumbs absorb the juices and make them dense.
• Mtewem is a Ramadan and celebration dish in Algiers, served in a shallow dish with the sauce spooned over.

Substitutions

• No smen: butter with a spoon of plain yoghurt whisked in approximates its lactic tang.
• Chicken thighs can replace the lamb pieces, cooking in 30 rather than 45 minutes.

Variations

• Mtewem bel hamra is the red version, built on tomato puree and paprika instead of the white base.
• Some cooks fry the meatballs in oil first, giving a browner sauce and a firmer ball.
• A version finished with a beaten egg and lemon liaison, like chorba beida, is common in Blida.

History

Its name comes from thoum, garlic, which is used in whole heads; a classic of Algiers festive cooking.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mtewem?

Mtewem is a main from Algeria: meatballs and lamb simmered in a garlic-heavy sauce with cinnamon and chickpeas. Its name comes from thoum, garlic, which is used in whole heads; a classic of Algiers festive cooking.

How long does Mtewem take to make?

Mtewem takes 35 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Mtewem?

Yes, within limits. No smen: butter with a spoon of plain yoghurt whisked in approximates its lactic tang. Chicken thighs can replace the lamb pieces, cooking in 30 rather than 45 minutes.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mtewem?

Tip in all the peeled garlic cloves whole and cook them gently for 4 to 5 minutes, turning, until they soften and smell sweet rather than raw; the quantity is deliberate, since mtewem takes its name from toum, garlic.