A couple of years ago, Dave and I got a cooking Moroccan recipe book from a friend as a Christmas gift. The book collection comes from a series from England. The recipes are not laid out in a manner that is brilliant, but the recipes are fantastic. Moroccans eat in a communal manner and this dish is served directly at the table in the tagine. Here is my recipe for Kefta Tagine.
Kefta Tagine
Ingredients
- 500 g minced lamb
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 30 mls finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- 30 mls finely chopped coriander
- 2.5 mls cayenne pepper
- 2.5 mls ground ginger
- 5 mls ground cumin
- 5 mls paprika
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- 30 mls oil
for the sauce:
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 10 mls ground cumin
- 2.5 mls ground cinnamon
- 5 mls paprika
- 800 g chopped tomatoes
- 10 mls harissa
- 60 mls coriander chopped
- 4 eggs
Method
- put the lamb, onion, garlic, herbs and spices in a bowl and mix well
- season with salt and pepper (you need quite a bit)
- roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls (I used a dessert spoon for ease)
- heat the oil in a tagine over medium to high heat
- add the meatballs in batches and cook, turning occasionally, for 8 - 10 minutes or until browned all over (once added do not turn until browned, then turn once and remove as soon as the other side is browned, this helps hold the shape)
- remove the meatballs and set aside in a bowl
to make the sauce
- heat the olive oil in the tagine (don't add too much if you have oil left over), add the onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft
- add the garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and paprika and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant
- stir in the tomato and harissa and bring to the boil
- reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes (with the lid off)
- add the meatballs, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until cooked
- stir in the coriander, then carefully break the eggs into the simmering tagine and cook until just set - put the lid of the tagine back on to complete this process
- season and serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices
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EDIT:
Ten years down the line and I am editing blog posts. The SEO requirements have changed over the decades. Before, one could just write a few descriptive words about a recipe and post a recipe. But then, words became more important that the recipe itself. And so a story is needed. Usually people write a post about the recipe, or the ingredients. And if you write about the ingredients you could do a lot of copying and pasting between all your recipes. I do neither. Now, in 2020 I write about my life. The only thing I can remember from 10 years ago that was significant was the ash cloud. It stopped all air traffic. And now a decade down the line, a world wide pandemic has done the same.
Thanks for this, I received four tagines as a mothers day gift yesterday, so I am keen to read as many tagine recipes as you have to share.
will share more! you are so lucky! what a lovely gift, are they for oven and stove top use? Hope little one gets better soon 🙂