Kefta Tomato & Meatball Tagine Recipe

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

4 medium- eggs

salt and pepper to taste

a small handful fresh coriander leaves, coarsely chopped, for garnish

1 pound ground beef

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

2 tsp Kefta Spice

1 tsp salt

pepper to taste

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 pounds ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped, or 2 - 14oz cans chopped tomatoes

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp black pepper

2 garlic cloves, crushed

salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F (if using a clay tagine, place in cold oven and do NOT preheat)

For the meatballs, put the minced beef, parsley, cumin, paprika, one teaspoon salt and some freshly ground black pepper into a bowl and mix together well using your hands. Dampen your hands and form the mixture into about 28 1in balls.

Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a shallow tagine or frying pan and brown the meatballs briefly on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate and set to one side.

For the sauce, add the onion to the tagine or pan with the remaining tablespoon of oil and cook gently for ten minutes until very soft and just beginning to brown. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and leave to simmer gently for 15-20 minutes until well concentrated in flavor but not too thick. Season well with salt to taste.

Return the meatballs to the sauce and mix together. Transfer to a shallow ovenproof dish if you have prepared the sauce in a frying pan, otherwise leave the mixture in the tagine. Make four slight dips in the mixture and break an egg into each one. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the eggs are just set.

Scatter with the chopped coriander and serve with warm flat bread