ADVERTISEMENT
Prepare your ingredients:
Peel your onion and finely chop it.
Peel your garlic cloves and press them in a garlic press (or mince them).
Chop the parsley (or cilantro) leaves and, if desired, the mint leaves.
Peel your potatoes and cut them into quarters, then each quarter in half.
Start preparing the tomato sauce:
Pour a drizzle of oil into your tagine dish (a Dutch oven or large skillet with a lid). Heat, then add your chopped onion. Sauté for a few moments, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic and sauté briefly.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes, half of each spice, and a small glass of water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer gently, covered, for 10 minutes.
The minced meatballs:
While the tomato sauce is cooking, prepare the meatballs: place your minced meat in a bowl. Add the remaining spices and half of the herbs. Season with salt to taste.
Knead everything by hand.
Shape into walnut-sized balls.
Meatball Tagine:
Add the potato chunks, meatballs, and olives to the tomato sauce. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the remaining herbs.
Cover and cook for 35 minutes, until the meatballs and potatoes are cooked through. Pierce the potatoes with the tip of a knife or a fork; if it pierces easily, they are cooked through.
To Serve:
Serve your tagine hot with bread for dipping.
I always add a drizzle of olive oil. I love olive oil. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
To save a little time:
a. You can prepare the ground meat and spice mixture the day before. Store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
b. You can also prepare the tomato sauce in advance.
Caution: Don't add too much salt; the olives are already salty.
If you prefer, you can desalinate them before adding them to your tagine. To do this, simply boil them two or three times in water (draining and changing the water each time).
For spicy lovers like me: when serving, consider adding a little harissa or any other hot sauce of your choice. Yummy!
To make variations of the meatball tagine:
a. Don't hesitate to substitute (or add) potatoes or other vegetables of your choice. Consider green beans, artichokes, fennel, peas, fresh or frozen fava beans, etc.
b. And why not also use chicken, ground turkey, or fish meatballs? They're delicious too.
ADVERTISEMENT
