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Kefta tagine Moroccan meatballs from overhead.
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Kefta tagine (Moroccan meatballs in tomato sauce)

These warmly spiced meatballs are cooked in a bright tomato sauce - easy, comforting and delicious.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Moroccan
Servings: 4
Calories: 504kcal
Author: Caroline
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Ingredients

For sauce

  • 28 oz tomatoes fresh or canned, see notes
  • 2 tablespoon cilantro chopped volume
  • 2 tablespoon parsley chopped volume
  • ½ medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil or a little more, as needed
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt or a little less, to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon or a little more, to taste

For meatballs

  • 2 tablespoon cilantro chopped volume, or a little more
  • 2 tablespoon parsley chopped volume, or a little more
  • ½ medium onion
  • 1 lb ground lamb lamb mince, or use beef or a mix of both
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric

To finish, optional

  • 4 eggs (ie one per person)

Instructions

For sauce

  • If using fresh tomatoes, cut them in half cross-ways (ie not top to bottom) and grate them into a shallow dish/bowl, holding the base/top and discarding the skin. If using canned, crush them if not already crushed and remove any tough stem pieces or skins.
  • Finely chop the cilantro and parsley and then measure out (I usually chop for the meatballs at the same time then set those aside). Peel and finely dice the onion and garlic.
  • Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a tagine or wide, relatively deep skillet/frying pan or braiser (wide enough to have the meatballs in a single layer, ideally, depending on quantity you are making). Add the onion and cook a few minutes until it is going translucent, reducing the heat and/or adding a little more oil if needed to avoid burning. Then add the garlic and cook a minute more.
  • Add the rest of the sauce ingredients - tomatoes, cilantro, parsley, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and cinnamon - and mix then bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat and cook for around 15 minutes covered, and another 15 uncovered (or part covered) at a simmer so that the flavors mingle, the tomatoes are completely soft and the sauce starts to thicken slightly.

For meatballs

  • As the sauce is cooking, make the meatballs. Finely chop the cilantro and parsley and grate the onion. Place all in a bowl along with the ground lamb/beef, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and turmeric. Mix well so that all the ingredients are well distributed - I find this is often easiest by hand.
  • Take small pinches of the mixture and form round balls, roughly the size of a grape (around ½in/1 ¼cm diameter) and set aside. The exact size is not that important, but they should be relatively small and all around the same size so they cook evenly. Repeat until all the mixture has been formed into meatballs.

To finish off dish

  • Once the sauce has had time to cook, add the meatballs into the sauce, pressing them in slightly. Try to get them all in a single layer with sauce between them and coming up the sides - the tops will likely stick out but that's fine. Cover and let the meatballs cook in the sauce. It will probably only take around 10 minutes. Check that they are cooked through, and try not to cook them more than they need.
  • If adding eggs, create slight wells in the mixture by moving some meatballs closer together to create areas with only sauce and crack eggs into those spaces, one per person. Cover again and cook a few minutes to your preferred level of doneness. I generally cook only so the whites go translucent but the yolks are still soft, as the yolks are great when they mingle into the sauce. And bear in mind they will continue to cook a little after you remove from the heat.
  • Once eggs are done, if you added (or after meatballs were done of not), remove from heat and serve. Goes well with some bread to mop up the sauce, or you could serve with couscous.

Notes

If you have ripe, flavorful fresh tomatoes available then I would recommend those, but if not then canned are better. 
Photos show a half quantity but the method and proportions etc are the same. 
Nutritional info assumes using eggs, so would be different if not, and is, as always an estimate.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 246mg | Sodium: 1325mg | Potassium: 902mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2775IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 4mg
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