Cooking in
Fort St. John
North African
Kefta and Egg Tagine (Tagine Kefta Mkaouara)
Tagine kefta mkaouara is Morocco's most accessible tagine and one of its most satisfying: Ovis aries ground lamb (or beef) hand-mixed with cumin, paprika, cayenne, Allium cepa onion, fresh coriander, fresh flat-leaf parsley, and sea-mineral-salt, formed into walnut-sized meatballs (kefta) and poached directly in a spiced Solanum lycopersicum tomato sauce built in the tagine base, finished by cracking whole Gallus gallus domesticus eggs into hollows formed in the sauce and cooking to just-set whites with runny yolk. The kefta must be formed small — walnut-sized — so they cook through in the sauce in 12–15 minutes without drying. The tomato sauce is the architectural element: Allium cepa onion, Allium sativum garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne, and Olea europaea olive-oil, reduced to a thick, spoonable base before the kefta go in. The egg finish — still-runny yolk breaking into the red sauce at the table — is the defining eating moment of this preparation.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
One elsewhere in British Columbia · five not yet within reach.
How the 6 are reached
- Elsewhere in British Columbia
- 1 · fresh coriander
- Not yet within reach
- 5 · cayenne, cayenne, ripe tomatoes, warm khobz, harissa
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the kefta
500 g
ground lamb (or beef)
minimum 20% fat
Your own market
1 medium
onion
very finely grated or minced
Your own market
1 tsp
ground cumin
Your own market
1 tsp
sweet paprika
Your own market
¼ tsp
cayenne
Not yet within reach of Fort St. John · each reach is counted
¼ tsp
ground cinnamon
Your own market
15 g
fresh coriander
finely chopped
15 g
fresh flat-leaf parsley
finely chopped
Your own market
1 tsp
sea salt
Your own market
For the tomato sauce
3 tbsp
olive oil
Your own market
1 large
onion
finely chopped
Your own market
3 cloves
garlic
finely chopped
Your own market
1 tsp
ground cumin
Your own market
1 tsp
sweet paprika
Your own market
¼ tsp
cayenne
Not yet within reach of Fort St. John · each reach is counted
800 g
ripe tomatoes
peeled and roughly chopped, or good-quality tinned whole tomatoes, crushed by hand
Origin · ItalyNot yet within reach of Fort St. John · each reach is counted
1 tsp
sea salt
Your own market
To finish
4
eggs
whole, at room temperature
Your own market
To serve
warm khobz
for scooping
Not yet within reach of Fort St. John · each reach is counted
harissa
on the side
Not yet within reach of Fort St. John · each reach is counted
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of Fort St. John →Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Combine the ground lamb, grated onion, cumin, paprika, cayenne, cinnamon, coriander, parsley, and salt in a bowl. Work the mixture firmly by hand for at least 3 minutes until the ingredients are fully cohesive and the mixture holds its shape when pressed — the sustained kneading aligns the meat so it binds to itself rather than to the pan, and kefta that has not had this treatment will fall apart in the sauce. The mixture is ready when it pulls cleanly from the hand and feels uniformly dense.
2
Pinch off portions of the kefta mixture and roll between the palms into walnut-sized balls of approximately 20–22 g each, setting them aside on a tray. Keep each ball no larger than a walnut, because a bigger ball will colour and tighten at the surface while the centre is still raw by the time the sauce has done its work. Uniform size also means every ball finishes at the same moment.
3
Warm the olive oil in the tagine base — or a wide, shallow pan with a lid — over a medium flame, then add the chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, and cayenne and stir for 1 minute until fragrant, so the spices bloom in the hot fat and their flavour carries into the sauce rather than sitting raw at the finish. Add the tomatoes and salt and simmer uncovered, stirring and pressing the tomatoes down, until the sauce is thick, deeply coloured, and spoonable with no pooling liquid — it is ready when a spoon drawn across the base of the pan leaves a trail that holds for 2–3 seconds.
4
Lower the kefta into the reduced tomato sauce in a single layer and spoon sauce over each ball, so every surface is coated and the balls poach evenly rather than steaming on one side. Cover the tagine and simmer gently for 12–15 minutes, turning the kefta once at the halfway point. They are cooked through when firm to a light press with the back of a spoon and no longer pink at the centre.
5
This is where the dish lives or dies. Use the back of a large spoon to press four shallow hollows into the sauce between the kefta — shallow enough to cradle each egg so the white stays gathered around the yolk rather than spreading thin across the pan — then crack one egg into each hollow and cover the tagine immediately. At 6 minutes, lift the cover: the whites should be barely set and opaque, the yolk visibly fluid and domed; replace the cover and check at 2-minute intervals, removing from the heat the moment the whites are fully set and the yolk remains liquid. Do not stir, do not shake — overcooked eggs, with rubbery whites and a hard yolk, make the dish dry and dull, and the runny yolk breaking into the red sauce at the table is the defining moment of this preparation.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Hand-minced lamb shoulder (20–25% fat) from a butcher who grinds to order; vine-ripened San Marzano tomatoes in season, peeled and hand-crushed; eggs from a known small flock, day-fresh, with a deep-orange yolk that holds its dome in the sauce.
02
Estate — Good-quality butcher-ground lamb (not supermarket pre-pack); whole tinned San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed; free-range eggs selected for yolk colour and freshness.
03
Market — Supermarket ground lamb at 20% fat minimum; quality tinned chopped tomatoes reduced to compensate for added liquid; standard free-range eggs.
04
House — Ground beef in place of lamb; any tinned tomatoes, well reduced; eggs from any reliable commercial source. The dish remains entirely recognisable and satisfying at this level.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. Kefta mixture pulls cleanly from the hand and feels uniformly dense — protein is sufficiently developed to hold in the sauce.
◇Sight. Tomato sauce leaves a trail when a spoon is drawn across the pan base; the trail holds for 2–3 seconds — sauce is thick enough to receive the kefta without waterlogging them.
◇Touch. Kefta feel firm under a light press from the back of a spoon after 12–15 minutes of simmering — cooked through.
◇Sight. Egg whites are fully opaque and set; yolk surface is visibly fluid and slightly domed — the correct moment to remove from heat.
◇Where it lives or dies. The egg timing decides the dish: whites must be just set, yolk visibly fluid — check at 6 minutes, then at 2-minute intervals, and pull from heat the instant the whites are opaque; a hard yolk is an irrecoverable failure.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Wine
From British Columbia
Beer
Without alcohol
Non-alcoholic
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance