From Meat-free Monday to a Meatball Wednesday! Everyone loves meatballs and I'm sure these North African Chermoula meatballs will soon become a family favourite. As South Africans, we're familiar with the successful pairing of savoury and sweet. Red meat in particular works really well with apricots, peaches and dried fruits. With this in mind, I've combined a spicy paprika tomato sauce with succulent meatballs and sweet currants. It's earthy, spicy and a complete taste sensation! Chermoula is a North African spice consisting primarily of cumin, coriander, paprika, saffron and cayenne pepper. It's warm rather than fiery hot and can be used quite liberally as a dry rub on meats and for braai (barbecue) kebabs. Locally, you can find Chermoula at Food markets or Woolworths in the spice and condiment section. The rich tomato sauce has 'mopping up' written all over it. Warm Turkish flatbreads would come in very useful here. I serve the meatballs with a nutty, herbed bulgur wheat, but some fluffy mashed potatoes will be very comforting. Adding white breadcrumbs to the meatballs helps to keep them tender and light. If you're Banting, replace the breadcrumbs with almond flour, omit the currants and serve with cauli-rice. A great tasting sauce is a key accompaniment to the success of any meatball recipe and this tomato sauce is that - intensely red and rich. The recipe is quite adaptable so if you prefer, swap the meatballs for fish fillets or chicken pieces, in which case, you'll need to add the Chermoula spice to the sauce. Either way, these meatballs are hearty, rich and very comforting.