Moroccan Meatballs -- Tagine Kefta

"I was taught how to make this recipe during a vacation in Morocco, where I was lucky enough to spend some time with the chef of a restaurant, Naima. In Morocco, people eat it straight out of the tagine with lots of bread to soak up the sauce but it also makes the best spaghetti and meatballs I've ever tasted! The key is to use the freshest, juciest tomatoes you can find. If you aren't lucky enough to have a tagine, you should be able to make this dish in a deep frying pan, as long as it has a cover. I think a non-stick pan would be best. One other thing, be careful of adding onions to this dish as they are very watery and will make the sauce runny. If you do add onions, you will probably have to let it simmer uncovered for a few minutes to reduce the sauce."
 
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photo by pate g. photo by pate g.
photo by pate g.
photo by pate g. photo by pate g.
photo by pate g. photo by pate g.
photo by Teddys Mommy photo by Teddys Mommy
photo by Sackville photo by Sackville
Ready In:
35mins
Ingredients:
15
Serves:
2-3
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ingredients

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directions

  • Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in the tagine, cover and let simmer gently over a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Meanwhile, use your hands to mix the ingredients for the meatballs together and then roll the meat into small balls, about 1 inch round.
  • After the tomatoes have simmered for about 15 minutes, stir the sauce and add a little water if you feel it is needed.
  • Place the meatballs in the sauce.
  • Do not stir but just let them sit on top of the sauce.
  • Lower the heat, cover and cook for another 8-10 minutes. Uncover and let simmer another couple minutes if you feel the sauce needs thickening.
  • Serve with lots of crusty bread for dipping in the sauce or over spaghetti with parmesan cheese on top.
  • If you want to make these ahead of time and freeze them, leave the parsley out and place the meatballs in a rigid container like a tupperware dish before freezing.
  • To reheat, thaw in the fridge (you can do this overnight) and reheat on the stovetop over medium-low until bubbly. Add chopped parsley before serving.

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Reviews

  1. These were so good. I actually made them and put them in hoagie buns with some cheese and made meatball sandwiches, my family loved it. The sauce and meatballs have a completely different taste then the italian ones. Loved the cumin in this. Thank you for sharing this with us, a new family favorite.
     
  2. Brilliant recipe! I was given a Tagine for my wedding and this came out perfectly. Instaed of beef mince (ground beef), I used sausage meat and added breadcrumbs to hold it together. The resulting meatballs were delicious. Couscous helped thicken the liquid and gave it a very Morroccan look and texture. The recipe made enough for three servings (my husband has claimed the extra for his dinner tomorrow night he liked it so much!)
     
  3. Made this for a Night at the Casbah dinner party. I did the appetizer. Made as instructed except augmented with canned crushed tomatoes and upped the seasonings to accommodate the extra sauce. Boy were these tender. Served warm with whole wheat pita, toasted, quartered then stuffed with a great fatoush made with preserved lemon. Easy to handle party fare and a big hit. Thanks so much for this terrific twist on kefta...
     
  4. These were just OK. It didn't have a ton of flavor for me. The sauce got really runny, so I simmered it uncovered for probably 10 extra minutes. I think this dried out the meatballs and made them hard. I don't think I'll make this again.
     
  5. This was alright, but it wasn't anything great. It tasted fine but just wasn't anything too exciting. Kind of on the bland side a bit.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Fantastic! I only had hot paprika so I forwent the cayenne and added just 1tblspoon hot paprika to both the sauce and meat. BOY, was it hot. In fact, the sides of my mouth are still burning! I also used ground turkey instead of beef and a couple dashes of dried parsley instead of fresh. I also used drained, canned, organic diced tomatoes and added a can of mushroom while it was simmering. It was delicious. We finished off the spaghetti I made with it, so my husband just ate it straight with bread for seconds. Thank you for the yummy recipe; it will definitely go in my Family Favorites cookbook and go into regular rotation on our monthly menus.
     
  2. Awesome! This was so good. I cooked it in a medium sized wok and it was fine. I also used olive oil in place of the vegetable oil. I also used garlic powder instead of the fresh cloves. It still came out tasting so delicious. I will definitely be making this one again!
     
  3. I just ran across a recipe almost identical to this one in a Cooking Light magazine. It came from a Moroccan born cookbook author. It calls for canned tomatoes instead of fresh, but in I would love to try it with fresh. It is a vegetarian version and calls for eggplant instead of meatballs. I will be making it for my family and adding garbanzo beans. Sounds delicious and I will review later. Thanks for this recipe, which I had in my cookbook, and remembered when I saw the one in Cooking Light.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

This is a picture of me and my husband in Portugal, climbing up above the clouds with our bikes. Right now we are travelling around the world on our bicycles, so I only pop onto Zaar occasionally, when internet connections and time allow me to. If I don't reply to a message about one of my recipes, now you know why! Our trip may take several years so if it's urgent, it's probably better for you to post in the forums ;) Good food is really important to me -- I am happy to pay extra for food that I feel is produced in a sustainable and ethical way and always try to eat using seasonal produce. When we were in the UK we rarely shopped at supermarkets, trying instead to favour small producers, although we were very lucky in that we lived in London and there was lots of choice. We also were fortunate enough to have a weekly organic veg box delivered to our door, filled with so many lovely vegetables for very little money. It really opened my horizons in terms of the variety of vegetables I eat. If you're in the UK, check out Riverford for a box supplier as they're amazing! When I'm not eating I love to take pictures and travel with my husband. <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/ZWT2.gif">
 
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