Haitian Meatballs from @MaddieDayAuthor

MADDIE DAY here, with a little bit of a cheat. Way back in November, 2014, I (as Edith Maxwell) was a guest on this blog with a recipe for Haitian Meatballs. In my second Lauren Rousseau Mystery, now reissued as Murder on the Bluffs, this is a dish Lauren's boyfriend Zac makes for her.

I'm away on a rare vaction and didn't have time before I left to come up with an original recipe (and appropriate visual documentation) for this week's post. Eight years ago is a long time, so I hope you'll forgive this re-run!

Lauren’s boyfriend Zac is temporarily taking care of his twelve-year old Haitian niece. He invites Lauren over for dinner one night and makes the following recipe, which he learned from his grandmother in Haiti. But after Zac and Marie-Fleur head to Port-au-Prince for the summer and Lauren discovers the body of a local man whom she’d argued with earlier that day, her peaceful summer becomes a lot more complicated.

Isn't that a pretty cover?

Boulett ak Espageti (Zac’s Haitian Meatballs and Spaghetti)

Ingredients:

Meatballs

1/2 onion, minced

1/2 green bell pepper, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh thyme, chopped

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 T salt

1 T ground black pepper

1/2 cup flour

Sauce

2 T olive oil

1 large can tomato sauce

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 habanero pepper, minced very small after discarding seeds and white membrane (use fork and sharp knife to avoid touching with your fingertips). Adjust more or less depending on your tolerance for capsaicin (the heat in peppers).

1/2 bouillon cube or 1/2 tsp concentrated bouillon

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Careful with the habanero!

1 lb spaghetti

Directions:

Meatballs: Saute onions and green pepper in 2 T oil until onions are clear. Add garlic and fresh herbs and saute another minute. Don’t let the garlic brown. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, combine ground beef, salt, pepper, and vegetable mixture and squish together. Form meatballs and roll in flour. 

Heat 2 T oil over medium heat until hot, then saute meatballs, turning gently until brown all over and cooked. Remove from heat.

Sauce: In a medium sized sauce pan, saute onions in 2 T oil until soft. Add tomato sauce, habanero pepper, bouillon, and cilantro, and salt to taste. Heat until warm. Add meatballs and more fresh herbs if you’d like, and cook together for 5-6 minutes or until warm.

Boil spaghetti until al dente, drain, toss with oil, and serve meatballs and sauce over it. Serve with optional bottle of habanero sauce on the side.

Serves four or more.

Readers: What's your favorite way to eat meatballs?

My most recent release is Batter Off Dead, Country Store Mystery #10, out now!

My next release is Murder in a Cape Cottage, the fourth Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery, out September 27.

"Scarfed Down," my Country Store novella in the collection Christmas Scarf Murder releases the same day.

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.