How a Shabbat Meatball Tradition Grew Over Two Continents and Three Generations

Shared by Shawna Goodman Sone
Recipe Roots: Montreal > Toronto > Philadelphia > New York City > Montreal > Ra'anana, Israel

Chef and cooking teacher Shawna Goodman Sone’s mother “got married when she was 19,” says Shawna. And, “burnt down her first kitchen at 20. So, she knew nothing,” when she got married. But Shawna’s mother Rosalind, who was also known as Roz and Rozzie, became “a real balaboosta,” says Shawna. She was the type of cook who could adapt recipes, use up the end of what was sitting in jam jars, add a bit of wine to the pan, and produce a superb brisket. Rosalind grew her repertoire by attending cooking classes through her synagogue sisterhood, tearing pages from the local newspaper the Montreal Gazette, and collecting community cookbooks, which she marked up with her own notes. 

Trained in library science, Rosalind kept meticulous notes on what she served at each dinner party she hosted and every Friday night meal. Shabbat dinners in Shawna’s childhood home were elaborate affairs. “My friends loved coming because we had this formal [meal],” Shawna says. “Our house just took on a different mood on Friday.” To prepare, Shawna remembers raking the shag carpet they had in their Montreal home and fluffing the velvet and needlepoint pillows that marked graduations in the family. 

Guests were never asked (or allowed) to bring part of the meal. “The meal was her expression,” Shawna says of her mother. It started with chicken soup “that was holy,” she adds. And it often included spinach souffle, caramelized carrots, roast beef or chicken, an apple cake to finish and cookies that her mother always kept in the freezer. And there were frequently “S&S” meatballs, simmered in a sweet and sour sauce that became a hallmark of the Shabbat dinners. 

When Shawna started to work on her cookbook “Panache: Montreal's Flair for Kosher Cooking,” which raised over $160,000 for a Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital, she set out to make Rosalind’s meatballs and despite Shawna’s kitchen experience, she says: “I botched them so many times.” She eventually realized that the meatballs need to be cooked slowly to coax the right flavor and texture. “That was my big challenge, to master them,” Shawna adds.  

Seven years ago, Shawna, her husband, and three sons relocated to Israel. In their new home, the tradition of Friday night meals for Shabbat continued. Before COVID struck, the table was always open, welcoming friends. “A lot of my mom’s formality and tradition definitely carried through,” says Shawna. 

But, here, one of the key ingredients in her mother’s meatball recipe, cranberry jelly, isn’t always easy to find. Inspired by a book from a non-profit she loves and her new life in Israel, Shawna decided to experiment and make pan-fried meatballs, seasoned with baharat, a spice blend with allspice, clove and cinnamon, and hawaij, a Yemenite blend that features turmeric, cumin, and pepper.

“I made it for my kids and I thought there would be a rebellion,” says Shawna. But her family embraced the new recipe. “We can live with both. We can have a little bit of newness while preserving the old. And, so now we have two family recipes for our meatballs.”

Meatballs with Baharat and Hawaij

Makes: 4 to 6 servings
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients
For the meatballs:
2 pounds ground beef
3 large eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons baharat spice mixture
2 teaspoons hawaij spice mixture
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh flat parsley, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 to 8 vine tomatoes, grated
1 teaspoon baharat spice mixture
1 teaspoon hawaij spice mixture
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup water

Preparation

1. Place the meat, eggs, breadcrumbs, spices, onion, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Knead the mixture for a few minutes until all the ingredients are combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes. 

2. Wet your hands with a bit of water, and shape the mixture into 1 inch meatballs. Place the shaped meatballs onto a tray.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large and wide pot over medium high heat. Add the meatballs and fry on all sides until golden. Transfer the meatballs onto a large plate. Reduce the heat of the pot to medium low and add olive oil and grated tomatoes with their juices. Mix well and scrape the bottom of the pot to combine all the golden meatball bits into the sauce. Add the baharat, hawaij and salt into the pot and mix well. Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes and add ½ of water if needed to thin out the sauce mixing well. Add the meatballs back into the pot with the sauce, place a lid on the pot and cook the mixture on a simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, increase the heat to medium if needed, until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce thickens.

4. Serve hot with a side of rice.

Adapted and inspired by Not By Food Alone: Recipes and Tales from the Shabbat Table at Shanti House.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Makes: 40 meatballs
Total Time: 3 hours + overnight

Ingredients
For the sauce: 
1 14-ounce can cranberry sauce
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons ketchup
½ teaspoon kosher salt

For the meatballs:
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ cup grated yellow onion, squeezed dry
2 pounds ground beef
1 large egg
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. For the sauce, pour  the cranberry sauce, tomatoes, sugar, lemon juice, ketchup and salt into a large saucepan over medium heat. Mix well and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook the sauce over a simmer, mixing often, for 5 minutes.

2. For the meatballs, gently mix the garlic, onion, beef, egg, salt and pepper together in a large mixing bowl. Roll into 50 small unifor meatballs and place onto a tray. Gently place the meatballs into the sauce. Cook, partially covered, over a gentle simmer on low heat for about 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are cooked through  and the sauce has thickened. Transfer the meatballs and sauce from the heat and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight or for 6 to 8 hours. 

3. To serve, skim any excess fat from the meatball and sauce mixture. Reheat the meatballs and sauce in a pot over medium heat, stirring often, for about 20 minutes or until the meatballs are hot.

4. Serve hot.