Tagine de Kefta aux Œufs

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •30 cm heavy clay tagine or wide lidded skillet
• •Heat diffuser for a clay tagine on gas
• •Box grater for fresh tomatoes

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the kefta

   Put the meat in a bowl with the squeezed onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt, and black pepper. Mix with your fingertips until the herbs and spices are evenly through it, then stop; overworked kefta turns tight in the mouth. Roll walnut-size balls and set them on a plate while the sauce begins.

   Use meat with some fat. Very lean kefta cooks up hard, and no sauce can make it generous again.
2. 2

   Thicken the tomato

   Set a 30 cm tagine base or wide lidded skillet over medium-low heat with the olive oil. Add the tomatoes, garlic, paprika, cumin, cayenne or harissa if using, and the remaining salt. Simmer uncovered, stirring now and then, until the sauce darkens and thickens, 15-20 minutes. Drag a spoon through it; the path should hold for a breath before closing. That is why the eggs wait: a watery sauce steals their timing.

   When tomatoes are in season, grate them fresh. In winter, use good canned whole tomatoes instead of pale fresh ones; the market always has an answer.
3. 3

   Simmer the meatballs

   Nestle the kefta balls into the sauce in one layer. Cover and simmer gently for 8 minutes, then turn them with a spoon or shake the tagine base so they roll without breaking. Cook 5-7 minutes more, until firm and cooked through; if you check with a thermometer, the center should reach 71°C. Add a spoon of water only if the sauce starts catching at the edges.

4. 4

   Set the eggs

   Make four shallow spaces in the sauce and crack in the eggs, one by one. Salt the whites lightly, cover, and cook over low heat for 4-6 minutes, just until the whites set and the yolks still tremble when you move the pan. Pull it from the heat a little before it looks finished, because the clay or heavy pan keeps cooking.

   Crack each egg into a small cup first, then slide it into the tagine. One broken yolk is no tragedy, but one bad egg should never enter the pan.
5. 5

   Serve with khobz

   Scatter with parsley and coriander, add a thin thread of olive oil if the sauce looks tight, and serve from the tagine itself. Khobz is the spoon here. Break the yolks at the table so they run into the tomato and meat juices, and let everyone take their corner.

Chef Tips

• •This tagine doesn't need ras el hanout or saffron. With ras el hanout, you don't cheat, and you also don't throw it into every Moroccan pot. Here the grammar is cumin, sweet paprika, garlic, parsley, and coriander.
• •There are des cuisines marocaines, not one flattened kitchen. Some houses make the sauce hotter, some keep it round and sweet with paprika only; don't present your house hand as the only hand.
• •Do not set this over rice. The sauce belongs to khobz, torn by hand and used to gather the tomato, the egg yolk, and the kefta together.
• •The eggs finish fast. If the table is slow to sit down, wait to crack them in until everyone is near.

Advance Preparation

• •Mix and roll the kefta up to 24 hours ahead, then cover and chill.
• •Cook the tomato sauce up to 2 days ahead. Reheat it gently, then add the kefta and eggs fresh.
• •Do not cook the eggs ahead. Reheated yolks turn firm, and the whole kindness of the dish is lost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 410g)