Mohammed's Tagine Kefta

Sackville's Note:

Morocco is one of my favourite countries and after several trips there we now have good friends in the southern city of Zagora. It was there that I first learned how to make a tagine kefta, or in other words a Moroccan version of a meatball stew. Now I know there are almost as many versions of a tagine kefta as there are chefs. This one was taught to me by Mohammed in his kitchen in Zagora. For the oil, he used mostly olive oil but with a couple spoonfuls of vegetable oil mixed in. Also, the spices in Morocco are very fresh. Buy the best you can and add more if needed.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 3

• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 4 tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 500 g ground beef
• 4 eggs
• 1 jalapeno pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a tagine. If you do not have a tagine you can also use a large covered frying pan or casserole pot.
2. Put in the onion, garlic and parsley as well as the paprika, salt and pepper. Stir and cover, leaving to saute over a low heat while you prepare the meatballs.
3. Add the cumin to the meat, which helps it stay together. Mix well and form into either meatballs or flat patties.
4. After about five minutes you can add the tomatoes to the pot and continue to simmer.
5. Stir and add a bit of cold water if necessary as the tomatoes cook down and develop into a nice sauce. This should take at least 10 minutes, don't rush it.
6. When you have a good sauce, put the meat patties on top of the sauce and cover.
7. If you want to add the hot pepper you can lay it on top at this point as well.
8. Cover and let bubble away for another 10 minutes or until the beef is cooked, adding a bit of water if necessary.
9. Once the meat is cooked crack the eggs on top and let cook for another couple minutes, covered, until the eggs are done.
10. Serve hot with lots of bread to soak up the sauce.

Reviews

[QueSarah]

This is one of my favorite Moroccan recipes. I have made it several times and will make it again. The only suggestion for others is don't try to approximate a Tagine using a wok. The eggs did not cook because not enough heat got to them at the top of the dish. The second time I used a regular pan with a lid and it worked fine.

[Krista Roes]

I'm not sure what I did wrong? Followed directions exactly except for leaving out the pepper and found this very bland and oily. Maybe my tomato's were not as ripe as others were. The eggs were nice though. Made for "I Recommend" tag game.

[Karen Elizabeth]

Made this exactly as directed, for my DHs lunches, and DS decided to have some too, between them they pretty well polished it off! i didn't do the eggs, as I was expecting it to be eaten over the course of a few days, and thought that the eggs might become a bit rubbery, however, if I made it to be eaten straightaway, I would add them. Nicely spicy, thick and aromatic, they loved this, served over rice. I made the meat into meatballs. Very easy to make, I will definitely make this again. Thanks, Sackville!