Kefte Tagine With Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce

Kefte Tagine With Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce

This tagine is a classic Moroccan dish of kefte, or minced meat, simmered in a gently spiced tomato sauce until tender and full of flavor. The base is built from simple, everyday ingredients — tomatoes, onions, garlic, paprika, cumin and herbs — that come together to create something deeply comforting. In Morocco, it’s common to crack eggs directly into the tagine alongside the meatballs as they finish cooking. Just move a few meatballs around to make space for the eggs before adding them. You can make it that way or skip the meat entirely and go for an all-egg version, similar to shakshuka. In that case, add the eggs at the same time you would the meatballs, cover and cook until they’re done to your liking. Either way, it’s a dish meant to be shared and scooped up with plenty of warm bread.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

For the tomato sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped 

3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced  

1 ½ teaspoons ground paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin 

1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 

3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro 

½ teaspoon sugar or honey (optional)

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt or more to taste

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper  

For the kefte

1 pound ground beef (preferably 15 percent fat)

1 medium onion, grated on the large holes of a box grater or finely chopped, with its juices

1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped cilantro 

2 teaspoons ground paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon fine sea salt 

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch ground cayenne (optional)

Torn bread, for serving (optional)

For the Jalapeño-Yogurt Sauce

⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons milk of choice or water, plus more if needed 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus more for serving

1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped cilantro 

1 large or 2 small jalapeños, deseeded and finely chopped 

2 garlic cloves, grated 

¼ to ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste

Make the tomato sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, paprika and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the crushed tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, sugar (if using), salt and pepper; adjust the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes to prevent sticking, until the tomatoes have reduced to a fragrant, velvety sauce. If the sauce looks too dry at any point, gradually add tablespoons of water until saucy. 

While the tomato sauce simmers, make the kefte: In a large bowl, add the ground beef, onion, parsley, cilantro, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne (if using). Use your hands or a large spoon to mix the ingredients together and shape the kefte mixture into 1-inch-wide meatballs. (A 1-inch cookie scoop makes this go quickly.) Cover the meatballs and keep in the fridge until ready to use. (You can prepare the kefte mixture in advance, keep it in the fridge, and use it by the expiration date on the ground beef packaging.)

Make the yogurt sauce: In a medium bowl, mix the sauce ingredients together. If the sauce doesn’t have a pouring consistency, gradually add a bit more milk or water. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt if necessary. (Alternatively, place all the ingredients in a blender and purée for a smoother consistency.) 

Once the tomato sauce is ready, add in the meatballs, cover the pan again and cook over medium-low for 10 to 12 minutes, until they’ve turned brown and are cooked through.  

To serve, drizzle the yogurt sauce all over the tagine, garnish with additional parsley if desired, and serve immediately, with lots of bread on the side.

TIP: Made as written, served with basmati rice. Enjoyed it a lot, but for our taste, it could have been spiced more aggressively, maybe increasing the amount of herbs. What we will definitely change next time is the yogurt sauce: instead of drizzling it over the tagine, keeping it aside and drizzling it over each helping on the plate.

Made this as written but increased the amount of sauce. Doubled the amount of spices. Left the jalapeño yogurt sauce on the side and let everyone use what they wanted. Served with couscous and homemade flatbread. Turned out delicious. Will make again.