Moroccan Meatball and Egg Tagine

After a stormy night here in PDX I woke up to no power this morning and was forced to get ready by candlelight...not very easy.  And as I am looking at updates for the power outage it says it wont be fixed until 3pm, not good news for our fridge and freezer full of food.  On a more positive note tonight is scary movie night at my boyfriend's sister's house, she does one every Wednesday for the month of October and I love love love scary movies!  Tonight our feature presentation will be either Funny Games or House on Haunted Hill.  In other news cooking is such a comfort right now considering the loss of my Grandpa, and he always loved when I cooked for him.  This recipe will warm you right up, enjoy!  The picture below is not mine, it comes from the original recipe that I have linked above, the photo credit goes to Mark's daily apple.  As you will notice my photos are at the bottom of this post and a lot less appetizing.

Serves 4

The Ingredients

4 Eggs

Tomato Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter (30 ml)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed

1 teaspoon sweet paprika (5 ml)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (2.5 ml)

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric (a pinch)

1/2 teaspoon salt (2.5 ml)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper (a pinch)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne (a pinch)

28-ounces (790 g) of whole canned/boxed tomatoes in their juice (broken up with your hands or a food processor) or 28-ounces canned/boxed diced tomatoes in juice or 2 lbs. (about 1 kg) fresh, ripe tomatoes, chopped

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled into 1/4 cup (60 ml) hot water

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (60 ml)

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (60 ml)


Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef or lamb (or a combination of the two) (450 g)

2 tablespoons grated or very finely chopped red onion

1 teaspoon sweet paprika (5 ml)

1 teaspoon ground cumin (5 ml)

1 teaspoon ground coriander (5 ml)

1 teaspoon salt (5 ml)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (2.5 ml)

1/4 teaspoon pepper (a pinch)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne (a pinch)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley (30 ml)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (30 ml


The Process

1.  In a wide (11 or 12 inch/30 cm) saucepan or dutch oven with a lid, heat the olive oil/ butter for the tomato sauce. Add the garlic and sauté a few minutes. Add the spices and mix well then add the tomatoes. Bring to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes, covered.

2.  While the sauce is simmering, use your hands to combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Shape the mixture into small meatballs about 1- inch in diameter.  Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce along with the 1/4-cup of saffron water. Cover and gently simmer for 30 minutes.

3.  Crack the eggs into the sauce. Cover and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny.