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 Lamb Kefta and Fava Bean Tagine with Preserved Lemon, Olives and Small Red Chilis |
 Once you shuck the fresh favas, you will have a bowl of green/white broad beans |
 Favas are wonderful in all types of Mediterranean cuisines and served many ways |
 These are dried fava beans. They cost about 1/10th the price per pound of fresh favas |
 Each bean has a thick slin. Good roughage, but chewy. You can peel the favas for a more elegant presentation - but you don't need to for "the family" |
 These favas were blanched. You can see the brilliant kelly green of the fava with the skin on the left |
 It takes a little time and care, but skinning each bean will make a wonderful, tender dish |
 After you blanch the favas, they go into an ice bath |
 There is no substitute for the best Spanish saffron - a big investment, but a big return |
 The saffron, tumeric, ground ginger and cracked Tellicherry black pepper will season the tagine |
 Cilantro (fresh coriander), freshly ground lamb, flat leaf parsely, grated Spanish onion, cumin, paprika and sea salt will season the meatballs |
 After a thorough mixing of all meatball seasoning & herbs, into the 'fridge for at least an hour to marry the flavors |
 2 pounds of seasoned lamb make a wall of meatballs |
 Brown the meatballs well in oil and set aside |
 Fresh lemon juice, olives, hot peppers and grated onion will also season the favas |
 The cooking starts with the cilantro, garlic, onion and spice mixture heating in the oil |
 Add the favas and browned meatballs and a bit of liquid and slow cook for a couple of hours |
 Morccan Preserved Lemons make all the difference in the flavor profile of this dish |
 The classic Moroccan Tagine in which this dish was cooked |
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This is truly a hand-crafted meal - it takes time. I know that only the most devoted will make this. But it is nothing short of spectacular and was my favorite Spring dish. I'd eat it weekly. This is how I recall Mina made for me when I lived in Marrakech.
I'm sharing it just because it is a personal favorite and, for guests, a show-stopper. As in many cuisines, the Moroccan kitchen has many helpers. This is a labor of love for me, and for a staffed kitchen, it is a snap. I strongly recommend using fresh fava beans. You may use then skin on or skin off, as I have here. Skin on is great fiber, the skin is thick and chewy, loaded with flavor. Blanched and peeled makes a professional and colorful presentation and the bean will be as sweet and tender as fresh English peas. I like it both ways. You may also try the dish with dried favas, soaked overnight with a change of water. 5 pounds of fresh favas will get you a bit more than 1 pound of beans, and could cost you around $12-15.00 fo the lot. 1 pound of dried favas wil cost you about $1.50. You decide - restaurant and guests, or family...
I wish the photos were scratch & sniff. The beauty of the Moroccan kitchen is in the layering and segregation of herbs and spices within one dish. This dish is a good example: the meatballs have their seasoning and those flavors are seared and sealed into the meatball. The vegetable part of the dish has it's own spices and herbs. When combined, the dish is transported to a new gustatory destination.
I've not found this exact recipe in any Moroccan cookbook, but you will come no closer to a true Moroccan culinary experience than you'll find in my friend, Paula Wolfert's, "Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco" (1972). For me, Paula is the Queen of Maghrebi Cuisine - the Julia Child of the Maghreb - but much cuter!
Ingredientes
- THE MEATBALLS (Kefta)
- 2 lbs ground lamb
- 1/3 c flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 Tbs cilantro (fresh coriander) chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbs +1 tsp sweet paprika (combined)
- 1 medium Spanish onion, grated
- 1/4 rich olive oil
- THE FAVA TAGINE
- 1 lb shelled favas
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 pinch of saffron, pulverized
- 1/4 tsp ground tumeric
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 c grated Spanish onion
- 2 Tbs fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
- 2-4 small dried hot peppers, whole
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 1/4 c fresh lemon juice
- 1 preserved lemon, fresh discarded, rinsed & diced
- 1/2 c Kalamata, Gaeta or Royal Victoria olives, rinsed
- 1/2 preserved lemon, sliced, for garnish
- 1/3 c water
Direcciones
- THE FAVAS (using fresh)
- Shell the favas, discard the shells
- Prepare a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes
- Bring lightly salted water to a boil
- Boil the fava for 3 minutes
- Drain the water from the favas and immerse the favas in the ice water
- If you want to remove the skins from the beans, simply prick the skin, making a small incsion with a sharp paring knife and squeeze the bean out of the skin
- THE MEATBALLS
- Break up the ground lamb
- Add the grated onion, parsley, cilantro, cumin, paprika and mix it well with your hands to thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients well.
- Put the ball of meat into a small bowl, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour
- Use a teaspoon to make the meatballs - they should be 1-1/12", large marble sized, and put them on a platter
- Heat the oil in a large saute to shimmering
- Add the meat balls to the hot oil and brown on all sides
- Remove to the platter
- THE TAGINE
- Grate the onion
- Measure the dry spices into a small dish
- Chop the cilantro
- Crush the garlic
- Squeeze the fresh lemon juice into a small dish
- Add the oil to your cooking pan - if you do not own a tagine, use a heavy bottom pan to slow cook this dish over med-low/low heat for a couple of hours
- Add the onions, cilantro, garlic, dried hot peppers and spices to the oil as it heats
- Add the meatballs and favas and mix the ingredients to coat
- add the lemon jiuce and water
- Clean and rinse the preserved lemon, dicing 3/4 and add to the tagine
- Cover, bring to a simmer and then reduce, covered and let it slow cook 1-1/2-2 hours
- Add the olives about 10 minute before serving
- Cut the remaining segment of preserved lemon into stips for garnish
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Nutrition Facts
| Amount Per Serving | %DV |
|---|---|
| Serving Size 313g | |
| Recipe makes 6 servings | |
| Calories 622 | |
| Calories from Fat 416 | 67% |
| Total Fat 46.4g | 58% |
| Saturated Fat 17.18g | 69% |
| Trans Fat 0.0g | |
| Cholesterol 119mg | 40% |
| Sodium 121mg | 5% |
| Potassium 781mg | 22% |
| Total Carbs 20.03g | 5% |
| Dietary Fiber 2.3g | 8% |
| Sugars 1.86g | 1% |
| Protein 35.15g | 56% |
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Evaluaciones
24 de Junio de 2011
Looks pretty awesome! There are some awesome canned mini fava beans with chickpeas that I'd like to try with those meatballs.1 reply
23 de Septiembre de 2011
I served this for company tonight and as you promised, it was spectacular. The hunt for the fava beans delayed my preparing it sooner. Certainly no fresh ones were to be found, and dried when at last I located them were way pricey - about $7 for a 20 ounce bag. I prepared fava beans and lima beans for the guests to try out and, they preferred the limas - perhaps if I'd had fresh ones it would have been a different story. No preserved lemon to be found so I subbed tiny julienne strips of lemon rind. What I liked so much about this dish were the tiny lamb meatballs, incredible sauce, and the Kalamata olives pushed it over the top. I could see myself increasing, even doubling the tagine sauce next time I prepare it. I didn't consider the recipe too labor intensive as you warned, but the recipe could be broken into 2 stages - making meatball mixture the first day and cooking the tagine with them the next. Thanks for your time sharing your treasured recipe!Yo he cocinado/probado esta receta
Comentarios
23 de Septiembre de 2011Salad Foodie - Outstanding! You improvised beautifully on this dish! You MUST make a few Moroccan Preserved lemons (last page of my postings here). I assure you that you will be thrilled with the flavor profile it brings to your tagines and salads. Very easy - you can get by very easily with just 6 lemons - prepare 2 and juice 4. The meatball part of this tagine makes wonderful kabobs - just shape around a skewer and grill. I am most appreciative of your comments and hope you'll try a couple other of my dishes. Thanks, so much! - Amos- 18 de Junio de 2011It is some work for one person, but with a helper or two, it is a breeze. And well worth the effort!
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