A scrumptious and satisfying Simchat Torah solution

Planning the menu for Simchat Torah night can be somewhat of a challenge – especially when Simchat Torah falls out on Shabbat (a convergence, BTW, which never occurs outside of Israel).

After all, one doesn’t really know what time shul will end, and obviously, one doesn’t want to serve one’s guests dried-out, overheated food.

Thus, when I read Mimi’s mouthwatering pre-Rosh Hashanah post on sweet and sour meatballs, I realized she had found the perfect solution.

I like to make sweet and sour meatballs with cranberry sauce, because that’s how the world’s best cook – i.e. my grandmother a”h - would prepare them.

However, since she didn’t have a specific recipe - “as much as it takes” was one of her standard measurements – I adapted the following recipe from the “Spice and Spirit” cookbook (“The Purple Cookbook,” בלעז).

Sweet and Sour Turkey Meatballs

Sauce

• 2 cans cranberry sauce
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 200 grams tomato paste
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 tsp lemon juice
• 3-4 cups water

Meatballs

• 2 kg ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped very finely
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped very finely
• 2 eggs
• A dash or two of pepper

Directions

Place all the sauce ingredients in a large pot, and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, combine the meatball ingredients in a large bowl.

After twenty minutes, raise the flame, and bring the sauce to a rolling boil. Form meat into balls and gently drop – one at a time – into the sauce. Cover the pot, and let the meatballs simmer over a low flame for at least an hour.

Serve hot with rice. (Brown rice works very well.)

!בתאבון