Recipe Shakshuka with Kefta

medtran49

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The shakshuka can be made with or without the kefta. The kefta can be made of ground beef or lamb. We used lamb. We served it with khobz https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/khobz.13165/.

The original recipe came from http://www.mymoroccanfood.com/home/2015/3/30/shakshuka-meatballs-and-eggs-tagine, which is the blog of the author of the cookbook prize for the challenge. Thanks for pointing that out to @morning glory. I made a few changes to the recipe for our tastes.

Kefta

1 lb/450 grams ground beef and/or lamb
1/2 large onion, grated
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander
Leaves of 4 mint sprigs, chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste

Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Shape as desired. Place into refrigerator until needed.

Shakshuka - I doubled the sauce since my husband likes his sauces. If you are not using the meatballs, you might want to halve the sauce recipe.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 large jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 cans (400gr/14 oz) chopped tomatoes or 10 ripe medium-size tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt or more to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
4 eggs
2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

For the kefta, make about 1 inch/2.5 cm balls. I use a scoop as it's faster and makes them more even. Refrigerate.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan, add the onions and fresh peppers and sautee until onion is almost translucent, add the garlic and saute for an additional 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and next 6 ingredients. Stir to combine. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer over low heat until mixture thickens into a nice sauce, about 25 minutes. Add the meatballs to the sauce, cover and cook for 7-8 minutes. Move the meatballs around until you have 4 clear areas for the eggs. Break an egg into a small bowl, then slip the egg into 1 of the clear areas. Repeat for the remaining 3 eggs. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Egg yolks should still be runny.

With a large spoon, scoop out some sauce and meatballs and place into a large bowl. Gently scoop out an egg and place in the middle. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, and serve immediately with bread.
 
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Shakshuka (Chakchuka) or however it is spelled is one of my all time favourite dishes. For a start it contains eggs which are always on top of my list and it ah spicier than this recipe also contains chilli which another thing I can't live without. I to put much more chilli in mine - but that is nothing new.

A great start to the challenge @medtran49.
 
Food52 also suggests using nduja in it.

We had leftovers for breakfast yesterday. It got spicier overnight.
 
View attachment 27037
The shakshuka can be made with or without the kefta. The kefta can be made of ground beef or lamb. We used lamb. We served it with khobz Recipe - Khobz.

The original recipe came from Shakshuka - Meatballs and Eggs Tagine — My Moroccan Food, which is the blog of the author of the cookbook prize for the challenge. Thanks for pointing that out to @morning glory. I made a few changes to the recipe for our tastes.

Kefta

1 lb/450 grams ground beef and/or lamb
1/2 large onion, grated
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander
Leaves of 4 mint sprigs, chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste

Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Shape as desired. Place into refrigerator until needed.

Shakshuka - I doubled the sauce since my husband likes his sauces. If you are not using the meatballs, you might want to halve the sauce recipe.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 large jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 cans (400gr/14 oz) chopped tomatoes or 10 ripe medium-size tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt or more to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
4 eggs
2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

For the kefta, make about 1 inch/2.5 cm balls. I use a scoop as it's faster and makes them more even. Refrigerate.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan, add the onions and fresh peppers and sautee until onion is almost translucent, add the garlic and saute for an additional 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and next 6 ingredients. Stir to combine. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer over low heat until mixture thickens into a nice sauce, about 25 minutes. Add the meatballs to the sauce, cover and cook for 7-8 minutes. Move the meatballs around until you have 4 clear areas for the eggs. Break an egg into a small bowl, then slip the egg into 1 of the clear areas. Repeat for the remaining 3 eggs. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Egg yolks should still be runny.

With a large spoon, scoop out some sauce and meatballs and place into a large bowl. Gently scoop out an egg and place in the middle. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, and serve immediately with bread.

How did I miss this? Ok, I took a pack of beef mince out last night, I have all the ingredients so I'm making this for tea tonight. Heading out to pick mint, coriander and tomatoes from our garden.
This looks so good.

Russ
 
How did I miss this? Ok, I took a pack of beef mince out last night, I have all the ingredients so I'm making this for tea tonight. Heading out to pick mint, coriander and tomatoes from our garden.
This looks so good.

Russ

medtran49 you might like this?

So I've just made the mince mix up, it feels a bit dry, should I add an egg?
The smell of the fresh cumin is amazing, I dry roasted a heap a week ago and ground it.
Stuff ready for mince

Russ

57503
 
I just love our garden, I can walk out and pick pretty much any herb plus veges in like 2 mins. The smell of the herbs really are amazing. The parsley is with the onion, it's dried hanging on a door in the wash house. Ready to pick in seconds.

Russ
 
medtran49 you might like this?

So I've just made the mince mix up, it feels a bit dry, should I add an egg?
The smell of the fresh cumin is amazing, I dry roasted a heap a week ago and ground it.
Stuff ready for mince

Russ

View attachment 57503

End result, wife loved it so I'll,be doing it again.

Russ

View attachment 57514


Sorry, didn't see your question about the egg. I didn't add an egg. Maybe difference in fat content of ground beef? Was yours really lean?

Glad your wife loved it. Did you though?
 
Sorry, didn't see your question about the egg. I didn't add an egg. Maybe difference in fat content of ground beef? Was yours really lean?

Glad your wife loved it. Did you though?

Yeah I was hoping you would comment on mine, it felt dry when mixing meat, by hand, it was a bit dry when cooked, next time I'll add an egg. I also added parmasen cheese which my wife loved. I too loved it. The egg added a bit of runny to balance the dry meatballs. I still gave it 9/10.
I will tweak it next time.

Russ
 
Yesss love this! I recently ordered kefta from hodxpress and it was so good! But! I don’t understand how they get it so soft?? I tried making kefte before and after I fried it, it was really solid and hard you know. Someone told me you have to put bread in the kefta mixture. Like bread from the day before, you soften it with water and then you mix all the ingredients. I can’t see it in your recipe though. Do you have any other tips?

Mine aren't fried. They are cooked in the sauce. They are also small. I used a scoop that holds about 1 Tablespoon. They don't take long to cook when they are that small.

Some meatballs use a panade, which is soft bread crumbs moistened with milk or water, squeezed mostly dry and then mixed in with the protein, but these didn't need that. You also have to be careful and handle the protein gently. If you pack it together when mixing and forming the meatballs, they will be dry and tough. Also, if you do fry meatballs, you need to slightly undercook them so they can finish in your sauce but don't dry out and get tough. We don't really fry meatballs anymore. They either get cooked in the oven on a rack so the grease drips off or they cook in the sauce, especially if they are small like these were.
 
Just wanted to share I did a version of this dish today, and I loved it 😍 First time doing poached eggs and they were kind of meh cause I think the pan I used was too deep and the egg was submerged, but next time they'll be better! I think I'll also cut down on the cumin and skip the mint. And I made the kefta with a panade cause I like the texture better. But overall that was really good!
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