Moroccan turkey kefta tagine with eggs
Little cumin-and-cinnamon turkey meatballs simmered in a spiced tomato sauce with eggs cracked right in, made for mopping up with crusty bread.
- 50 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $3.19 a serving
- 670 calories
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, half grated, half chopped
- 1 lb ground turkey
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped, divided
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz
- 4 large eggs
- 1 French bread, for serving
From your pantry
- 2 tsp ground cumin, divided
- 2 tsp paprika, divided
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup water
Each serving has about 670 calories, 43 g protein, 73 g carbs and 24 g fat, and costs about $3.19 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No ground turkey? Ground chicken works.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No French bread? Sourdough bread works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
half the onion on the large holes of a box grater into a big bowl, and the other half.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Add the turkey, half the parsley and cilantro, 1 teaspoon each of the cumin and paprika, the cinnamon, cayenne and ¾ teaspoon of the salt. Mix gently with your hands.
Roll it into 1-inch balls, about 24, and wash your hands.
Dolly’s tip: Wet hands keep the mixture from sticking. Small is good here; they cook through faster.Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a large, deep with a lid over medium.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heat
the meatballs 5 minutes, turning them gently, then move them to a plate. They won’t be cooked through yet.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Add the onion and cook 4 minutes, then add the garlic and remaining cumin and paprika and 30 seconds.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
in the tomatoes, water and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and 10 minutes.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 10 min
Return the meatballs, cover, and 10 minutes, until they read 165°F in the middle.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 10 min
Food safety: Ground turkey and ground chicken are done at 165°F, with no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Make 4 wells in the sauce with a spoon, crack an egg into each, cover, and cook on low 5 to 7 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks begin to thicken.
Low heatTimer: 6 min
Dolly’s tip: Look at the whites first. Once no clear, jiggly white is left and the yolks have started to thicken, it’s done.Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Scatter the remaining herbs over the top and serve from the pan with torn bread for scooping.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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