Now with meatballs!

I had some ground lamb I needed to use up. Tried Patricia Well's Moroccan meatball recipe via The Amateur Gourmet.

The mint is a nice touch. I might have almonds in the basement freezer, but didn't want to hoist the heavy trapdoor. Toasted pine nuts seemed like a reasonable substitute. I ground most of them, but left some whole. If I were to do this again, I would mix the lamb by hand; it got kind of mushy going through the Cuisinart.

I would also add some lemon zest to give the meatballs more zing, since I lacked tzatziki to dip them in. But they tasted good anyway, with garlic-sauteed gai lan and pasta. The gai lan is definitely sweeter than yu choi. I think I prefer the latter.
This is really a pretty speedy meal to make. Mix the meatballs first and stick the mix in the fridge while you are prepping other things. It will be easier to shape the meatballs without getting your hands completely goopy. I wash the gai lan pretty well, but instead of chopping it, I just take big bunches and twist-rip them in thirds. If you have pasta that takes 12 minutes to cook, you can figure on starting everything cooking at about the same time. Dump the pasta in, start sauteeing the garlic in one pan and cook the meatballs in another. It should all be done about the same time.