Spaghetti With Middle-eastern Meatballs

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 700 g lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, divided,finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumb
• 4 cloves garlic, divided,minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seed
• 2 tablespoons parsley, plus
• 2 teaspoons parsley, chopped fine
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided,plus
• extra olive oil, for browning
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small red bell peppers or 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 850 g canned chopped tomatoes, with juices
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 300 g spaghetti
• 170 g feta cheese, crumbled

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl, combine ground beef, 1/4 cup onion, bread crumbs, half of the minced garlic (2 cloves), cumin seeds, 2 tbs parsley and 3 tbs olive oil and mix well with your hands.
• 2 pull off small pieces of the mixture and roll into 1 inch balls.
• 3 in a large nonstick skillet, add a small amount of olive oil and cook the meatballs for about 10 minutes or until browned on all sides; transfer to a platter.
• 4 in the same pan, melt butter and 2 tbs olive oil over medium heat.
• 5 add remainder of the chopped onion, bell pepper, remaining garlic and cook stirring frequently for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are softened.
• 6 stir in the red wine, reduce heat to a simmer.
• 7 add tomatoes with juices and all remaining ingredients except the spaghetti and feta.
• 8 simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.
• 9 add the meatballs and cook for 10 minutes more.
• 10 meanwhile, cook the spaghetti as directed on the package and drain; serve topped with meatballs and sauce, sprinkled with the feta.