Cherry Meatballs

5 from 1 vote

Tender cherry meatballs simmered in a sweet and tangy cherry sauce – a perfect dish for cherry season.

Prep Time30

Cook Time50

Course: Beef, Pork and Lamb, Main Course

Cuisine: Middle East, Syrian

Servings: servings

Calories: 687kcal

Author: Adina

Chop the onion and the parsley very finely. You can use a small food processor if you like.
1 small onion + 4 tablespoons parsley
Meatball mixture: Place the ground meat, onion and parsley, allspice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix them with your hand.
1.5 lbs ground beef and pork + 1 ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt + ½ teaspoon ground black pepper + 1 ½ teaspoon allspice
Shape the meatballs by scooping about 1 tablespoon of the mixture and rolling it into a ball (I had about 40 small meatballs). Wetting your hands slightly makes this easier.
Cook the meatballs: Heat the oil in the pan. Fry the meatballs in 2 or 3 batches until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes per batch.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Remove them from the pan and carefully discard the excess fat, leaving only about 1 tablespoon behind.

Pit the cherries and finely chop the second onion while the meatballs cook.
2.2 lbs cherries + 1 medium onion
Sauté the onion in the same pan for about 2 minutes, until it turns golden.
Simmer cherry sauce: Add the cherries and the remaining sauce ingredients. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce has reduced nicely. Gently mash some of the cherries with the back of a spoon to help thicken the sauce and bring it together.
cherries + 3 cups water + 4 tablespoons pomegranate juice + ½ teaspoon cinnamon + ½ teaspoon allspice + 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Add the meatballs to the sauce, gently stir to coat them well, and let them simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes.
Garnish the dish with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley.
2 tablespoons pine nuts + more parsley

Ground meat: I used a mixture of beef and pork. You can use only beef, only pork, ground lamb (so great!), or ground turkey.
Cherries: I use sweet, ripe, almost black cherries. You can also make the dish with frozen cherries or with drained, pitted cherries in juice (not sweetened).
Pomegranate juice is thick, sweet, and tangy. If you don’t have it, you can replace it with 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar mixed with 1 tablespoon of honey.