Meatball & Egg Tagine

Ohhhh do I have a good one for you today! This is another old favorite, similar to turkey burgers and chicken peanut curry in the sense that we make it often but have never blogged about it. Never fear, because our go-to tagine meal is here. The reason a lot of our food is heavily Middle Eastern-influenced is because when we were undergrads, Will spent a summer studying abroad in Morocco. Being the main chef in our household, I'm sure it won't surprise you that he inspired by the food that he had while abroad and as we transitioned from being undergraduates to "real people," his recipe choices were reminiscent of his time in Morocco. This has proved to be a good thing, as a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean diet is full of grains and fresh veggies, moreso than some other cultural foods. As a result, I'm sure you've noticed from the blog we have a varied recipe collection, lovingly referred to as "ethnic" (despite that term rubbing both of us the wrong way, as academic types). However, despite the terminology, I hope that this blog has introduced you to more global recipes and has helped you to see that they are sometimes not as complicated or intimidating as you may initially think - I know it has helped me learn that!

Now, this recipe in particular is a favorite because A) it's really good and B) it looks really impressive. Will always makes this for Middle Eastern Ensemble parties that we've gone to throughout the years, as well as for dinner guests. You'll find this particular recipe is not entirely constructed in the tagine (mostly because ours is on the smallish side), but can be adapted to cook in the dish or transferred into the tagine to be served. Either way, simply owning and knowing what a tagine is typically impresses most of your friends. While Will's was a gift from his mother after his time in Morocco, tagines are more common now and you can purchase them at places like World Market and Williams-Sonoma. They come in a variety of sizes, colors and prices, so look around until you find one that you think is best for you! A good cookbook, like Tagine: Spicy stews from Morocco or The Food of Morocco, can help you get started with tagine cooking. It's not something we do incredibly often, but whenever the opportunity presents itself, Will loves to! (You can usually find me making the hummus and bread...). Still not even sure what a tagine is? Learn about them here - consider them the Middle Eastern Dutch oven. Go forth and tagine, friends!

Meatball & Egg Tagine (inspired by The Food of Morocco; serves 4-6)
1 lb. ground beef
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ras el hanout*
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
S&P, for seasoning
2 tbsp olive oil
4-6 eggs
Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ras el hanout
1 28-oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp harissa
3-4 tbsp chopped cilantro

*Specialty Moroccan spice blend including, cloves, cayenne, allspice, cumin, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, coriander, etc. 


Put the beef, onion, garlic, herbs and spices into a large bowl and mix well. Season with S&P and roll approximately one tablespoon size portions into balls. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook in batches for 8-10 minutes, or until meatballs are browned on all sides, turning occasionally. Remove meatballs and allow to cool before removing excess fat/oil.

To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add garlic and spices, cooking for 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes and harissa, bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the meatballs to the sauce, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. (Alternatively, if you own a tagine, you can transfer the sauce and meatballs to the base. Add the eggs, cover and bake in a 350 degree oven until the eggs are set.) Stir in the cilantro then carefully break the eggs into the pan and cook until set. Season and serve with couscous and Moroccan bread. Enjoy!