Moroccan Chraime Fish Balls

The Stuff: 

For the fish balls:

• 350g white fish, finely diced (I prefer cod or red snapper)
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 egg
• 3 tbs olive oil
• a handful of chopped cilantro
• a handful of chopped parsley
• 1 tbs Never Not Eating Chraime spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbs bread crumbs
• a pinch of baking powder

For the sauce:

• 2 large red peppers, sliced into 10 strips
• 1 green chili, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
• 4 fresh, large tomatoes, finely diced
• 4 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt
• black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 lemon, deseeded and chopped into tiny cubes
• olive oil
• 3 cups water

The Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the fish balls until combined. Make golf-ball sized balls and lay them on a tray. You should have about 25. 
2. In a saucepan, pour a drizzle of olive oil and fry the fish balls very lightly on a medium heat on both sides — just so they can get a little bit of color (they don’t need to be fully cooked). Set aside.
3. In the same saucepan, add another 2 Tbsp of olive oil, the red pepper slices, and the chopped green chili. Fry until they get a nice color, then add the garlic and lemon, and fry for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes, sugar, and the rest of the spices, plus salt and pepper to your taste. Cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the tomato paste, mix well, and let it cook until it becomes very thick. Then add the water and let the sauce come to a boil.
6. Add the fish balls and cook on a low heat for about 15-20 min.
7. Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle with cilantro. You can serve it with white rice or couscous, but I love it with simply a thick slice of fresh challah bread and a generous drizzle of tahini.