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Meatball Tagine with Lemon & Olives

Ready in 1 hr 5 mins

Recipe by Graham 

Meatball Tagine with Lemon & Olives is a beautifully rich dish with spiced lamb meatballs, offset with the fresh taste of lemon. A perfect dish for a cold winter evening or, if you have a tagine pot (with the tall chimney) as an impressively simple dish when you are entertaining friends.

Typically, a tagine is a rich stew of meat, which can include beef, chicken, fish, or lamb, and most often also includes vegetables or fruit. A tagine is a dish that is easiest made when you do all your preparation beforehand. (In fact this is true of most cooking, but particularly so when there are lots of ingredients).

Preparation Time

25 Minutes

Cooking Time

40 Minutes

Ingredients for Meatball Tagine with Lemon & Olives

If you are not familiar with any ingredients, please check our International Cooking Terms page.

Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements

To serve 4:

3 medium onions
1lb 2oz lean minced (ground) lamb
2 lemons
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  pinch cayenne pepper
  small bunch flat-leaf parsley
  salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
thumb-sized piece fresh ginger
1 red chilli
  pinch saffron strands
8½ fl oz lamb stock
1 tablespoon tomato purée (concentrated tomato paste)
4 oz pitted black kalamata olives
  small bunch fresh coriander

How to Cook Meatball Tagine with Lemon & Olives

  1. Peel the onions, chop thrm roughly, place them in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Zest one of the lemons and squeeze the juice (you need both). Chop the parsley, peel and grate the ginger, deseeded and finely chop the chilli and chop the coriander.
  2. Put the minced (ground) lamb, lemon zest, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, parsley and half the onions in a large bowl, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Using your hands, mix until everything is well combined, then shape into walnut-sized balls.
  3. Heat the oil in a large flameproof dish, or flameproof tagine with a lid, then add the remaining onions, grated ginger, chilli and saffron. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the onion is softened and starting to colour. Add the lemon juice, lamb stock, tomato purée and olives, then bring to the boil. Add the meatballs, one at a time, then reduce the heat, cover with the lid and cook for 20 minutes at a gentle simmer, turning the meatballs a couple of times to ensure they are evenly cooked.
  4. Remove lid, cut the second lemon into quarters and add the lemon wedges and the fresh coriander, tucking them in between the meatballs. Cook, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes until the liquid has reduced and thickened slightly. Serve hot with couscous or fresh crusty bread.
GRAHAM'S HOT TIP:
The lemon wedges at the end can be optional. Best taste the tagine first because some people will find it "lemony" enough without adding the wedges.
 
GRAHAM'S WINE RECOMMENDATION:
The lemon in this recipe may well strip out any citrussy flavours in a white wine, so best to go for a light read like a Spanish Rioja or a southern French rosé such as the Costières de Nimes.