Baharat Meatballs with Fava Beans

This recipe was inspired by the beautiful cookbook Jerusalem – A Cookbook that I got for Christmas. Well ok, I ordered it online and gave it to my husband to wrap for me for Christmas.  What!  Is that wrong!  Nothing like getting that perfect gift for Christmas!  The cookbook has great traditional recipes from Jerusalem and Palestine with beautiful photos and one that I love to browse the recipes with thoughts of making each and every one of them some day.  Baharat is an intriguing mixture of coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cumin, cardamom, and nutmeg. It is easy to mix yourself, or you might be able to find it at specialty food stores.  You can use whole spices and grind them yourself, but it’s one less step to use ground spices if you don’t have the time.  I used frozen fava beans because they were not in season and they are a lot easier to use.  I love fresh fava beans but it takes a lot of beans that you have to blanche and peel before you can use them but it is so worth it for their delicate flavor.  The fresh herbs add a wonderful fresh and vibrant flavor to the meatballs and sauce.  Serve the meatballs over basmati rice and orzo pilaf (click here for pilaf recipe…).  Click here for meatball recipe….