Simple and Different—Our Favorite Combo
We love to experiment with new flavors and ingredients, and love that doing so doesn’t have to be a whole thing. Meatballs are something that we return to again and again as a canvas for flavor experiments. Many cuisines around the globe have some sort of meatball in their recipe catalogue—from Swedish meatballs to kofta to classic Italian beef meatballs—so it’s not as strange as it may sound to play around with different meatball seasonings. Today’s inspiration is harissa, a North African chili paste that’s full of warm, smoky spices and has become incredibly easy to find here in the U.S. Don’t you just love it when you try something new and just like that it becomes a new pantry staple? That’s how it was for us and harissa.
So, What Is Harissa?
Short answer? Harissa is kind of like spicy ketchup. Longer answer? Harissa is a common condiment used in Tunisia, Morocco and all throughout North Africa that is becoming more and more common here in the U.S., too—yay! It’s often sold in tubes (just like tomato paste or anchovy paste) but you can also find jarred versions. Or, if you’re feeling super ambitious, you could make your own. Recipes vary brand to brand, but harissa is always made of dried chiles that are rehydrated and then mixed together with spices like cumin, coriander, caraway and garlic. It’s spicy, but not insanely hot—mostly, it’s just wonderfully, deeply flavorful. A little jar of harissa delivers a ton of deliciousness for a modest price. Like we said, it has definitely earned a spot as a new staple in our pantries.
Sheet-Pan Dinner + Meatballs for Dinner = Quite Possibly the Most TMP Recipe Ever.
Goodness knows we love a sheet pan dinner. And everyone knows about our meatball fan club membership. So really, it was only a matter of time before we put the two together. And oh boy, are they ever a winning combination. This easy sheet pan recipe is low-carb (basically no-carb, actually), satisfying, cheap and FAST. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Ground beef
- Herbs and spices: cumin, smoked paprika, parsley and garlic.
- Eggs
- Breadcrumbs
- Cabbage
- Olive oil
- Harissa
- Lemon
- Fresh mint
How to Make Sheet Pan Meatballs With Cabbage
We echo the smoky, cumin-tinged kick of harissa in the meatball mixture, but only use harissa paste in the delicate, 3-ingredient sauce that finishes this easy sheet-pan dinner recipe. 1 sheet pan, 15 minutes of prep time, 30 minutes in the oven and dinner is DONE. Here’s how to make this healthy, low-carb, meatball sheet pan recipe:
- Mix the meatballs. Remember to mix with your hands, and try to have a light touch.
- Roll the meatballs. Wetting your hands before you roll the harissa-spiced meatballs makes this easier.
- Bake the meatballs! Nestle the quartered cabbage onto the sheet pan amidst the meatballs, and bake the whole lovely dinner for about 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and the cabbage is nicely roasted.
- Make the harissa sauce! Or is it a harissa dressing? Either way, it’s delicious. Just a little harissa, fresh lemon juice and olive oil.
- Drizzle the harissa sauce!
- Gobble it all up! Feel virtuous AND delightfully full, at the very same time!
Tools You’ll Need:
More Sheet-Pan Dinner Recipes
Put that sheet pan to work!
Sheet Pans—Not Just For Cookies Anymore.
Remember when all you used your sheet pan for was baking chocolate chip cookies? Yeah, neither do we. If you try these harissa meatballs with cabbage, we want to hear about it! Snap a photo, and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!
