I’ve always been drawn to Moroccan cuisine for its bright colors and deeply earthy flavors. Slow-cooking classic Moroccan spices never disappoints. These brilliant herbs and spices can turn a pound of ground beef into a colorfully vibrant meatball and sauce meal that satisfies even the sternest flavor chaser.

Moroccan dishes, usually cooked in an earthenware slow cooker called a tagine, often take a simple starting point and then turn the disparate elements into an exotic, wildly exciting dish packed full of rich flavors and beautiful color. All you need to add is ballast – rice, potatoes, or couscous – to soak up as much of the tasty sauce as possible.

In this recipe, simple ground beef meatballs with celery, carrots, and onion, join with classic Moroccan spices including turmeric, paprika, cumin, and chili. Over a minimum of 6 hours the ingredients soak up all of the spices. A bright splash of saffron (alas only imitation saffron is suitable for my budget) provides a further touch of North African mystique and color to the resulting stew.

The recipe is almost completely set-and-forget once the sauce and meatballs are made: get the meatballs rolling in the morning, add them to the slow cooker along with the sauce, and return to them at the end of the day for a hearty yet intoxicating family feast. And, they make a brilliant make-ahead meal for work or for when life is at its busiest. With that flavor is locked in, dinner is ready to be served to the family or ready to heat-and-eat when in a hurry.

One thing worth noting. I make this Moroccan meatball recipe without browning the meatballs first, purely for flavor reasons. They take in so much more of the subtle spices when they go in without time in the pan (or air fryer first). While there’s every chance you’ll lose a meatball or two into the sauce, they tend to hold up nicely. If not, the lost beef creates another layer of taste that you’ll be happy to spoon onto rice or couscous.