Moroccan Kefte – meatball tagine
These Moroccan kefte are a perfect blend of warm spices and tangy sauce. The meatballs are packed full of flavour and the saffron in the sauce makes this dish impossible to resist. I reccommend making more than you need!
These Moroccan kefte are a great weeknight dinner option. Both the meatballs and the sauce can be prepared in advance and then thrown together when you are ready for dinner. Don't worry about using a tagine. I prefer to cook mine in an earthenware dish in the oven, or they can just as easily be cooked in a pan on the stovetop.
Serve these meatballs with couscous or rice and vegetables.
- 400 g minced beef
- 1/4 very finely diced red onion
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 1 egg
- 2 clove garlic finely chopped
- 1 red chilli finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 onion chopped
- 2 clove garlic finely chopped
- 4 dried bird's eye chilis crumbled
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- Large pinch of saffron threads crumbled
- 1 tbsp chicken stock concentrate (or 2 cups chicken stock)
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl. Mix the meat massaging thoroughly with you hands to ensure good flavour and texture.
Using a spoon or your hands make small walnut-sized bowls of the meat mixture. Arrange these meatballs in the dish you are going to bake them in.
Choose a wider shallow baking dish as the meatballs need to stick out above the sauce.Rest the meatballs in the fridge until you are ready to use them.
Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a frying pan and heat over a medium heat. Add the onions and fry until the onions soften.
Add the garlic and crumbled dried chilis and fry for 30 seconds. Make sure nothing catches.
Add the tomato puree and fry for 30 seconds stirring constantly.
Add the stock concentrate plus a cup of water (or just a cup of stock) and a large pinch of saffron threads crumbled. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Add the lemon juice and chopped parsley and take off the heat. The sauce can now rest until you are ready to cook dinner.
Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC with fan.
Pour the sauce over the uncooked meatballs. The meatballs should stick out above the sauce so you may need to adjust the quantity of sauce depending on your baking dish. Either use less sauce or add a little water.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the meatballs are browned on top and cooked through. Serve with couscous or rice and some buttered vegetables.
To test for doneness you can take a meatball out of the sih and cut it in half.