Meatball, Tomato and Egg Tagine with Lemon Saffron Couscous

Meatball, Tomato and Egg Tagine with Lemon Saffron Couscous ~ a classic Moroccan dish. 

A tagine, or rich North African stew, is cooked in a vessel of the same name: an earthenware pot with a conical top that lets out steam. If you don’t have a tagine, and you probably don’t, it can be cooked in a cast iron skillet, or stock pot, like I’ve done here.

There are more tagine recipes than you can count, but this one caught my eye and sounded too good to pass up—tender Moroccan beef and lamb meatballs in a spiced tomato gravy, finished off with eggs gently poached in the sauce. I added the Lemon Saffron couscous to round out the meal, but traditionally it would be served directly from the pan, and eaten with the hands, using bread to scoop it up. The meatballs can be formed ahead to make it more convenient.

The meatballs get browned quickly on all sides, then simmered in the rich tomato sauce spiced with fragrant cinnamon, cumin, paprika, and cayenne.

What makes this dish special, in my opinopn, is the finishing touch—one egg for each serving is gently poached in the sauce. The Lemon Saffron Couscous looks like a burst of sunshine on the side, and has quite a bit of lemon flavor to it. If you’ve got any Preserved Lemons, feel free to add them, too.

Recipe adapted from Paula Wolfert

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5 from 11 votes

Meatball, Tomato and Egg Tagine with Lemon Saffron Couscous

Author Sue Moran

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Ingredients

For the meatballs

• 1/2 lb ground lamb
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion minced
• 1/3 cup parsley minced
• 1/3 cup fresh coriander minced
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil for frying

For the sauce

• 1 28 oz can good quality crushed Italian tomatoes I used San Marzano
• 1 or 2 whole tomatoes chopped (Optional, I like the added texture)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup fresh coriander leaves rough chopped
• 4 eggs

For the Lemon saffron couscous

• 1 lb couscous
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp saffron threads
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• juice of 2 lemons
• zest of 2 lemons

Instructions

For the meatballs

• Combine all the ingredients together, except the oil.  Don't over work the meat, but make sure everything gets well blended.  Form into small, 1 inch balls.  Brown the meatballs on all sides in the oil.  Set aside.

For the sauce

• Put all of the sauce ingredients except the coriander leaves and the eggs in a heavy pot and heat to a simmer.  Cook the sauce for about 30 minutes until thickened.  I covered it for the first half and uncovered it for the second.  Add 1/2 cup water if your sauce seems too thick.
• Put the meatballs into the sauce, cover and simmer gently for another 5 to 10 minute, just to cook the meat through.
• Poach the eggs gently in the sauce until set.  You can also poach the eggs separately if you want a neater appearance to the finished dish.  It's up to you.
• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with Lemon Saffron Couscous.

For the lemon saffron couscous

• Put the water in a saucepan and add the saffron threads, crushing them between your fingers as you add them.  Heat the water and saffron just to a simmer, then turn off the heat and let it steep for 10 minutes.
• Add the oil, lemon juice, zest, and salt, and bring the water back to a boil.  Add the couscous and mix well.  Turn off the heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Fluff well with a fork and serve alongside the tagine.

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