Madhouse recipe : Meatball & egg tagine (Morocco)

My original plan was to make Chakchouka, which is a very similar one-pan meal using spicy merguez sausages, but when I looked in the freezer and saw some frozen meatballs, I decided to go for another Moroccan classic : kefta & egg tagine. I used shop-bought meatballs for speed, but you could easily make your own from scratch instead.

Meatball & egg tagine

ingredients :

a drizzle of olive oil

a pack of frozen meatballs (or make your own)

1 onion

1 red or green pepper

2 cans of chopped tomatoes

1tbsp tomato puree

salt, pepper

1/2tsp ras el hanout

1 egg per person

Start by cooking the meatballs in the olive oil. When cooked through and nicely browned, remove to a dish and reserve.

In the same pan, cook the onions and peppers. I was serving mine with bulgur pilavi, so I put the onions and peppers in that instead. When they are softened but still retain some crunch, add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, salt and pepper and, if using, ras el hanout. (You could use chilli powder or paste instead to give it a little kick.)

Once the sauce has simmered for a few minutes and thickened, drop the meatballs back in. Press them into the sauce but don't completely cover them.

Use a spoon to make little wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each hole.

The heat of the sauce should be enough to cook the eggs, but if they stay a bit too runny for your liking, pop the pan under the grill for a couple of minutes to firm them up.

Serve with crusty bread, couscous or bulgur pilavi. 

*** Don't miss my country-by-country globecooking recipe index ! ***

For more Moroccan cuisine, you might also like to try :

Amlou
Bastilla
Batbout, frying pan bread, stuffed with kefta

Briouates stuffed with Spinach & Meat

Chakchouka
Chermoula-spiced carrots

Chicken with Olives & Preserved Lemons
Cooking with a Tagine
Couscous
Fish Tagine

Fragrant Beef Koftes with Raita

Gazelle Horns

Harira (Moroccan Soup)

Kefta Meatball Tagine
Moroccan Chicken with Apricots & Almonds
Moroccan Spiiced Courgettes

Moroccan Style Carrot & Orange Salad

Tagine-cooked Fish with Olives & Vegetables

Moroccan holiday diaries : Meeting the locals !

Time for another flashback to our summer holiday in Morocco !

On our first trip along the seafront at Agadir, we bumped into one of the traditional water sellers. He made us all pose for a photo with his hat on ! We declined his offer of water though as, firstly, we had no idea where it came from but it probably wasn't a bottle and, secondly, everyone drinks out of the same copper cup. Hmmmm !

The kids excitedly spotted a camel ... then we realised it was one of the sand artists who had made a camel out of sand !

We did see real camels too though. Pass him a toothbrush, quick !

This one made us laugh because it looked like it was parked as a car !

In the souk, the kids got to play with the tortoises (and they were gutted to hear that I used to have a tortoise when I was little but we gave it away !).

Then they excitedly discovered some tortoise eggs in the straw.

Seeing how delighted they were, the stallholder brought out his pride and joy (and probably unique selling point for the tourists) - a rather sad looking chameleon. Madhouse Daddy wasn't too keen.

Pierre giggled until he ended up with it on his head !

I was unfazed as I'd had a black cobra dangled around my neck the night before !

The black cobras live wild in the mountains (we were told this as we were driving through these very mountains where we were caught in a camel traffic jam - eeek !) and the snake charmers go out and collect them when it's cooling down and they start coming out. We saw several snake charmers in the town squares and the locals seemed as fascinated as the tourists.

Sometimes, there were just too many adventures and too much excitement packed into each day !

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Moroccan recipe : Briouates Stuffed with Spinach & Meat

Moroccan holiday diaries : Discovering argan oil and goat trees !

Holiday Postcard Competition - Our Magical Holiday Memory from Morocco

Moroccan recipe : Briouates Stuffed with Spinach & Meat

Another dish discovered at the Moroccan restaurant at our hotel in Agadir. These are basically a Moroccan twist on samosas and can stuffed with whatever you like, from spicy chicken or minced beef to almonds and honey. This is the version we ate.

Briouates Stuffed with Spinach & Meat

ingredients :

500g minced meat (beef, lamb or chicken)

1 onion, finely chopped

200g fresh or frozen spinach, shredded

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs, lightly beaten

a pack of filo pastry

4 tbsp melted butter (for folding the briouats)

vegetable oil (for frying the briouats)

Mix the meat with the onion and spices and gently fry in a drizzle of olive oil. Stir in the eggs and spinach and cook over medium heat until the liquids are absorbed. You should be able to pack and mould the meat. Set aside.

Use the meat to fill the filo pastry. You can see how to fold briouates here : http://snapguide.com/guides/make-maroccan-cheese-briouats-phyllo-pastries/ (There's an even simpler recipe for cheesy briouates using Laughing Cow cheese and pepper here too.) Brush with melted butter.

 Deep fry the briouates in hot oil until light golden brown. Drain and serve with salad.

Linking up to the Summer Spice Challenge at Bangers & Mash

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Moroccan recipe : Harira (Moroccan Soup)

Moroccan pastry recipe : Gazelle Horns

Moroccan recipe : Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Moroccan recipe : Harira (Moroccan Soup)

On our last evening in Agadir, we went to the traditional Moroccan restaurant in the hotel. This was our starter and it's apparently a very popular soup during Ramadan. It reminded me of a spicier version of minestrone.

 Harira (Moroccan Soup)

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

250g lamb or mutton (or you could use any other meat)

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

100g chickpeas (can use tinned or soak them overnight if using dried ones)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp ginger

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

big bunch fresh parsley and fresh coriander, finely chopped

4 fresh tomatoes or 1 tin chopped tomatoes, liquidised

1 lamb or beef stock cube

100g vermicelli or very small pasta

3 litres water

6-7 tbsp plain flour or cornflour, for thickening

Gently fry the onion and meat in a large saucepan until the meat is browned on all sides.

Add the carrot, drained chickpeas and all the spices except the cinnamon. Stir and add 250ml of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer over a medium heat for half an hour.

Add the herbs and tomatoes, and cook until the chickpeas are soft and the meat is falling off the bone.

Add more water to replace what has evaporated during cooking. Add the stock cube, cinnamon and vermicelli.

In a bowl, mix the flour with a few spoonfuls of cooking liquid. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pan until well incorporated.

Cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the pasta is completely cooked. Serve with crusty bread.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Moroccan pastry recipe : Gazelle Horns

Moroccan recipe : Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Moroccan recipe : Kefta Meatball Tagine

Moroccan foodie souvenir : Amlou

As I told you in my earlier blogpost, argan oil is one of the main products exported from the Agadir region of Morocco that we stayed in and one of the products that they make with it is Amlou. They dub it the Moroccan Nutella but it actually tastes more like peanut butter. It's a mixture of ground roasted almonds and argan oil, mixed with honey.

We bought a tub in the local souk and have been eating it spread on bread or dipping bread into it, but I will be experimenting to see if there are any recipes out there using it. 

I think it would make lovely cookies, so I may have to investigate. Any Moroccans out there with any ideas to share ?!

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Moroccan recipe : Chakchouka

Moroccan recipe : Kefta Meatball Tagine

Moroccan recipe : Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Moroccan holiday diaries : Discovering argan oil and goat trees !

One of the picturesque towns that we visited in Morocco was Essaouira, a lovely fishing port, and one of the big attractions on the road from Agadir (where we were based) to Essaouira is what the locals call goat trees. These trees are actually argan trees but the goats love the nuts that grow in them and don't hesitate to climb up into the trees - as far as 6m above the ground apparently ! - to get their hands (or hooves) on the much sought-after nibbles.

The goats aren't the only ones to like the nuts though. They are transformed into argan oil which is dubbed the liquid gold of Morocco.

We visited one of the cooperatives that employ widowed and divorced women to produce argan oil in the traditional way by hand.

The first woman breaks the shells to get to the kernels insde, which is what produce the oil.

The second woman uses two large stones to crush them to a paste and the third woman kneads the mixture by hand to release the oil.

Juliette had a go and said it's very hard work. In the souks, they have mechanised versions of these machines, but the hand-produced oils are apparently of a much higher quality.

Argan oil can be used in a wide range of beauty products and also for culinary purposes, in which case the kernels need to be roasted before being ground. They create an oil with a delicious nutty flavour which offers a whole host of health boosts - it's good for the heart, lowers cholesterol, helps feed your brain, is great for healthy joints ... It appears to be the cure for all evils, if you listen to the people in the cooperatives !

The oil can't be heated to very high temperatures so should be used to drizzle over salads or at the end of cooking to add a nutty flavour to your dish. It's an expensive oil, compared to olive oil and other vegetable oils, but when you see how labour-intensive it is, you can see why.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Moroccan pastry recipe : Gazelle Horns

Moroccan recipe : Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Holiday Postcard Competition - Our Magical Holiday Memory from Morocco

Moroccan pastry recipe : Gazelle Horns

We first discovered these typical North African pastries called "cornes de gazelle" or "gazelle horns" in Tunisia last year and got to try some more in Morocco this year. I promised Juliette that I'd look up the recipe when we got home because she loves them so much, so here it is. It sounds quite simple actually so they shouldn't be too hard to replicate :

Gazelle horns

ingredients :

440ml flour

30ml melted butter

30ml orange flower water

2 large egg yolks, beaten

2ml salt

icing sugar

Almond paste:

500ml finely ground almonds

250ml icing sugar

30ml orange flower water

30ml melted butter

2egg yolks, beaten

2.5ml cinnamon

the zest of 1 lemon

Combine all the almond paste ingredients in a bowl and divide into about 16 pieces, rolling each piece between your hands to make cylinder shapes about 7cm long.

To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, orange flower water and one egg yolk. mix in the flour and salt mixture and add enough cold water to form a soft dough. Keep kneading for about 10 minutes until it is soft and elastic.

Roll the pastry out until very thin on a floured table and cut into strips just slightly larger than the almond cylinders. Lay a cylinder of almond paste on each pastry strip and fold it over to seal it inside, using egg yolk to seal the pastry and brushing the remainder over the top. Shape it into a crescent/gazelle horn shape.

Bake in a 180°C (350°F) oven for 12 to 16 minutes or until lightly golden. When cool, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Moroccan recipe : Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Moroccan recipe : Tagine-cooked fish with olives & vegetables

Moroccan recipe : Chakchouka

Moroccan recipe : Kefta Meatball Tagine

Ready for another Moroccan recipe? Our second cookery lesson was for Kefta Tagine, which is a tomatoey meatball dish with eggs. After watching this being cooked, I ordered it in a little Moroccan restaurant up in the mountains and they'd added peas (they seemed like tinned peas, so I'd have no qualms in going for the quick option !) which made this a perfect all-in-one dish that I will definitely be cooking again.

Kefta Meatball Tagine

ingredients :

olive oil

500g minced beef (or pork or turkey or Quorn or whatever you fancy!)

spices : 1/2tsp ras el-hanout (local Moroccan spice) OR 1/2tsp black pepper/1/2tsp ginger/1/2tsp paprika/1/2tsp cumin

salt

chopped parsley

1 onion, finely sliced

a clove of garlic, crushed

6 tomatoes, chopped (or 2 tins of chopped tomatoes)

optional : 1/2tsp harissa (chilli paste)

5 eggs

Time to get your hands messy ! In a big bowl, mix the minced meat with half of the onion, half of the spices and the garlic. Add a beaten egg to help it hold its shape and form it into small meatballs with your hands.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in your tagine or a large frying pan. Gently fry the rest of the onion, then add the tomatoes and the rest of the spices. Add a glass of water and leave to simmer for ten minutes. Mix in the harissa, if using. When the tomato sauce is very hot (bubbling and almost boiling), drop the meatballs on top. (I wasn't convinced it would work without them being cooked in advance, but it does and they actually stay lovely and soft and juicy.)

If you want to add tinned peas, I would guess this is when they need to be added. (Or at the same time as the meatballs if using fresh or frozen.) When the tomato sauce has thickened and the meatballs are cooked through (this should take about 15-20 minutes), break the remaining eggs on top of the dish. Once they are cooked through (about 4 minutes for the whites to cook through and the yolks to remain runny), serve and eat with crusty bread.

Linking up to the Summer Spice Challenge at Bangers & Mash

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Moroccan recipe : Chakchouka

Madhouse recipe : Mediterranean Stuffed Ciabatta

Recipe : Korean Fried Chicken

Moroccan recipe : Chakchouka

I couldn't resist checking out the Moroccan cookery sessions on offer at our hotel in Agadir so I have a few exotic but totally simple dishes to share with you over the next few weeks. The first dish that we were shown was Chakchouka, which is basically the Moroccan version of Ojja that we discovered in Tunisia. Ali, the cook, made it in a traditional tagine on a gas burner with charcoal, but you could make it in a large frying pan. I'm tempted to try this in the slow cooker too.

Chakchouka

ingredients :

(The quantities are a rough guide as this was prepared for a big group of people to share - it's very much a throw it all in dish though, so just follow your instincts)

olive oil

5 tomatoes, chopped (plus the juice)

1 red pepper & 1 green pepper, deseeded & sliced

2 onions, chopped

garlic

1 large red chilli (optional - remove before eating)

some spicy merguez sausages, precooked (plus the spicy oil)

spices : salt, pepper, curcuma, cumin, saffron, paprika

a small (1/4 teaspoon) dollop of harissa (chilli paste)

eggs

Heat the olive oil in the tagine (or deep frying pan) and add the tomatoes, garlic, onion, peppers and chilli. Put on the lid and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then, until they are soft. Add the pre-cooked merguez and any of the spicy oil that has collected in the dish. Add all of the spices and the harissa. Continue to cook for 20 minutes, adding a little water if necessary.

Crack the eggs on top and wait for them to cook, spooning over some of the hot cooking liquid to help the topsides to cook. You can sprinkle over fresh parsley to make it look pretty.  Serve with bread to mop up all of that lovely sauce.

If you leave out the sausages, this makes a great vegetarian meal.

According to Ali, Chakchouka means mess because it's a dish where you just throw everything in !

I'm seriously thinking of buying myself a tagine at our local market to make it even more authentic.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Kitchen Nomad Globe-Cooking Recipe #2 : Bánh Xeo (crispy crepes)

Kitchen Nomad Globe-Cooking Recipe #1 : Youvetsi (Greece)

Holiday Postcard Competition - Our Magical Morocco Memory

Holiday Postcard Competition - Our Magical Holiday Memory from Morocco

We've just got back from a fortnight in Morocco (I bet you hadn't even noticed I'd gone, thanks to the wonders of modern technology and scheduled posts !) so when I saw that Travel Supermarket were hosting a new competition, asking bloggers to share one of their favourite magical holiday memories to make a special holiday postcard, I instantly knew what to blog about.

The totally surreal moment last week when we rounded a bend on a twisty, almost deserted mountain road in the Atlas Mountains on the way to Tafraout and came to a standstill due to a herd of camels happily sauntering along the road ! Judging by the backlog of cars, they'd been in the middle of the road for quite some time !

They happily wandered along at their own pace, without a second thought to the cars honking their horns or our local driver leaning out of the window, much to the kids' delight, and yelling "Ho, les dromadaires, bougez vos fesses" ("Oi, you camels, shift your bums")!

They eventually graciously decided to move to the side of the road and let us pass. We didn't manage to get a photo in time but there was even a baby camel wandering along next to his mum. Apparently, the nomadic tribes hide out from the heat (already 45° at 11am on the day we were driving past) in the mountain caves close to the road and let their camels loose to forage until they're ready to move on.

Disclosure : This is our entry for Travel Supermarket's Holiday Postcard Competition. Find out more at  http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/holiday-postcards/

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Kitchen Nomad Globe-Cooking Recipe #2 : Bánh Xeo (crispy crepes) (Vietnam)

Our Kent & Sussex £50 Foodie Roadtrip #roadtripchallenge

A Guide for Family Turkey Holidays from TravelSupermarket (and me !!)