In this hearty weeknight meal from recipe developer Sahara Henry Bohoskey, juicy pork meatballs get seared in a skillet, then simmered in a rich sauce of coconut milk and harissa. Henry Bohoskey’s preferred harissa is New York Shuk brand—it’s thick, punchy, and just spicy enough—but for bonus points go ahead and make your own. We like these saucy meatballs over mashed white beans, but they’re also good with polenta or orzo.
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What you’ll need
Large Straight-Sided Skillet
$200 At Amazon
Wooden Spoon
$7 At Amazon
Can Opener
$14 At Amazon
Sieve
$18 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4 Servings
Ingredients
2
4
1
½
2
1
1
⅓
1
2
½
Preparation
Step 1
Finely chop shallots and garlic. Combine garam masala, half of the shallots, half of the garlic, ½ cup cilantro, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large bowl; season with pepper. Add pork and mix gently until just combined. Divide into 12 pieces and roll into balls.
Step 2
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook meatballs, turning occasionally, until browned in spots, 5–8 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Step 3
Reduce heat to medium; cook remaining shallots and garlic in skillet, stirring often, until garlic is softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in harissa paste, coconut milk, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt; season with pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until slightly thickened, 6–8 minutes.
Step 4
Nestle meatballs into sauce; cover and cook 10 minutes. Turn meatballs over; cook, uncovered, occasionally spooning sauce over, until sauce is about the consistency of marinara, 8–10 minutes.
Step 5
Meanwhile, heat remaining ¼ cup oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add beans and ½ tsp. sumac; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and mashing beans and adding up to ¼ cup water a little at a time to loosen if needed, until heated through and almost completely mashed, about 3 minutes.
Step 6
Divide beans among plates; top with meatballs and sauce. Scatter cilantro leaves and sumac over.
Leave a Review
Reviews (51)
Back to TopI made this with some alertations. Use ground veal 1lb and more spicing, in addition to ground Alepo pepper and an egg. Also used powder harrisa with whole canned tomatoes chopped small. Oh my goodness, unbeleivable. I use a Persian spice blend and marsala. Much more than recipe called for. I made extra sause and porched some snapper fillets I caught in Key West in it. Remarkably delicious. Ate with taco sized totillas. No beans. Used kale instead. This is a staple in my home.
Anonymous
Saranac Lake NY
4/24/2023
I made this on a whim and was kind of second guessing, especially the beans, but it WAY exceeded my expectations!!!! So good!! The meatballs were incredible (added an egg and some breadcrumbs), beans a delicious texture (way less weird than I expected), and I served it with some sautéed greens - perfection. Would be amazing over rice too.
Cassia
Pittsburgh
10/5/2022
I LOVE this recipe. It is so easy and so exotic and flavorful. I often pair it with rice instead of the white beans, and sometimes I do a mixture of beef and pork in the meatballs. Making it again today for friends.
Brooke
El Cerrito, CA
9/14/2022
Love this recipe! We make twice the meatballs (2 pounds meat, double cilantro etc), same amount of sauce, serve over brown rice. If your harissa is very spicy, you may not need as much as is called for. Delicious any time of year.
Lwcberry
Georgia, US
6/23/2022
Love love love! You can sub rice for the beans too
Anonymous
Baltimore, MD
4/13/2022
The base of this recipe is great, but it definitely needs a few tweaks! The meatballs as written were a bit bland, so we upped the salt, pepper, and garam masala quite a lot. We also added an egg and a scoop of yogurt to moisten them up and bind them together properly. I might add fresh breadcrumbs next time, too. The sauce was so simple that I didn't think it would work, but it did! Since the harissa is such a major part of the sauce, the one you choose can make a huge difference here. We used New York Shuk which is complex but pretty mild in heat, and also added a little bit of tomato paste for umami. We served the meatballs over polenta instead of beans. For a healthier version, I think it would work nicely with sautéed kale!
lasagnaqueen
Portland, Oregon
3/15/2022
This meal is hearty and warm for a winter night but it was really spicy! I used 1/4 cup Trader Joe’s harissa paste and had to tame down the heat with Greek yogurt. I would like to try it again with less heat so I could taste the flavors of the meatballs. I really liked the mashed beans as a base.
Angela AC
Central Coast, CA
3/1/2022