Meatball Tagine

Visited some relatives and the restaurant next to the hotel was Moroccan, which introduced me to the deliciousness that is tagine, a slow cooked tomato stew served with flat bread to scoop up the sauce. My version uses my dad’s microwave meatball method to ensure they are uniformly cooked, but still fluffy. Cannot recommend this dish enough. (You don’t need a tagine pot to make this, but they are REALLY cool, they basically self-baste anything you cook in it due to the conical design).

Ingredients

  • Meatballs
    • 1 lb Ground Beef
    • 1 lb Ground Lamb
    • 1 Tbs Dried Parsley
    • 1 Tbs Dried Cilantro
    • 2 tsp Sweet Paprika
    • 2 tsp Ground Cumin
    • 2 tsp Salt
    • ½ tsp Black Pepper
    • ½ tsp Turmeric
    • ½ tsp Cinnamon
    • ¼ tsp Ground Dried Ginger
    • 2 Eggs, whisked
    • 1 Tbs Minced Garlic
    • 2 cups Rice Cakes, finely crushed (run in food processor)
    • 6 Tbs Olive Oil
  • Stew
    • 1 (14 oz can) Diced Tomatoes
    • 1 small can of V8 (5.5 fl. oz.)
    • 1 large White Onion, minced
    • 1 Tbs minced Garlic
    • 1.5 tsp Sweet Paprika
    • 1.5 tsp Ground Cumin
    • ½ tsp ground Cumin
    • ¼ tsp Black Pepper
    • 1 Bay Leaf
    • 1 Tbs Dried Parsley
    • 1 Tbs Dried Cilantro
    • ¼ cup Dried Apricots
    • 1/3 cup Harissa Paste
    • 2 Tbs Red Wine Vinegar
    • 2 cups Beef Broth
    • ¼ cup Golden Raisins
    • 1 Saffron Packet
    • 1 cup of Carrots, minced
  • Garnish
    • 10 eggs

Instructions

  1. Meatballs – Sauté onion with olive oil until translucent, set aside to cool. Once cooled, combine with other ingredients to make meatballs, should be about 1.5 inches in diameter. Put a plate full of meatballs in the microwave, covered with paper towel, microwave for 6 minutes. Remove from microwave to cool. Continue doing this with all meatballs. Pour drippings from plates into tagine pan or stock pot. Set meatballs aside for later.
  2. Stew – Heat pan with drippings over medium, then add onion, garlic, and carrot; sauté until tender. Add seasonings, tomato, and V8, simmer until reduced. Add apricots, raisins, and beef stock, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
  3. Once hour is up, remove bay leaf from the stew. Run the stew through a blender or food processor until you have a fine puree. Add back to pan and get to a simmer again.
  4. Garnish – Once simmering again, crack and add eggs to pan, cover and simmer for about 1-2 minutes until the yolks have set.
  5. To serve, divide meatballs between 5 bowls, ladle 2 eggs into each bowl, then top with generous portions of the stew. Serve with flat bread and enjoy!

Yield: Dinner for 5

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