If you own a tagine
but have been too intimidated to try using it, don't feel bad. Rest
assured there are many Moroccans themselves who have never cooked in
them either! The photos on the following pages show step-by-step how
easy it is to prepare a fabulous Moroccan stew in this traditional
cookware. For general tagine cooking advice, see Tips for Using a Moroccan Tagine.
Shown here are a ceramic tagine and an unglazed clay tagine. Both are quite common in Morocco, but I prefer the unglazed because it adds rustic, earthy flavor and aroma to whatever is being cooked in it. Both types should be seasoned before first use. The base of a Moroccan tagine is wide and shallow; the conical lid helps return condensed steam back to the food.
Next comes the garlic. Here I used a garlic press, but you could just as
easily chop the garlic or, if you like, leave the cloves whole. By
adding the garlic with ingredients at the bottom, I'm assured that it
will fully cook and meld with the sauce.
Ample oil is the foundation of a rich sauce in a tagine, so don't be
afraid to use the full amount called for in a recipe. Most of my tagine
recipes specify 1/4 to 1/3 cup oil; sometimes at home I use even a
little bit more to ensure there's ample sauce for my large family to sop
up with Moroccan bread. If you do reduce the oil, know that you will end up with less sauce or a watery sauce.
Here I'm adding light olive oil to the tagine. For this particular recipe, it can be added at any
time while assembling the tagine. Many Moroccan cooks will use a mix of
olive oil and vegetable oil, either because the olive oil is extra
virgin and contributes lots of flavor in lesser quantity, or as a matter
of frugality, as vegetable oil costs less.
Meat, poultry or fish is usually arranged in the center of the tagine as
shown here. If you're using meat-on-the-bone, place pieces bone side
down to reduce risk of scorching the meat. Here I'm using beef. I've
piled it up into a mound because I'll be adding lots of vegetables
around the perimeter. Sometimes you'll encounter recipes which direct
you to brown the meat first. It's really not necessary. If you do decide
to brown the meat, it's best done in a separate skillet since a clay or ceramic tagine should not be used over high heat.
This step is not absolutely necessary, but combining your Moroccan spices
before using them does allow for more even distribution of seasoning.
Here I'm mixing salt, pepper, ginger, paprika, cumin, turmeric, saffron
and a little cayenne pepper in a small bowl since I'll be sprinkling the
seasoning over ingredients. Sometimes I mix the spices in a large bowl
and toss the veggies and meat in the spices to coat everything evenly.
Sometimes I sprinkle the spices one-by-one directly into the assembled tagine. There's no right or wrong way.
Distribute some of the spice mixture over the meat and onions. You can
use up to two-thirds of the mixture at this step, concentrating the
seasoning on the onions so the spices will meld with the oil and liquids
to make a rich, flavorful sauce. The reserved spices will be used to
season the vegetables.
When using a tagine, the vegtables are usually added at the very
beginning of cooking along with the meat. Some recipes call for layering
the vegetables around the meat, poultry or fish, but in a Berber style
tagine they're arranged in conical fashion. If you can get them to stand
even more upright than what's shown here, do so as it makes a lovely
presentation. Once you've added the veggies, season them with the rest
of your spice mixture.
Now you can dress up the tagine with color and flavor by adding strips or slices of bell pepper, preserved lemon, olives and an herb bouquet of parsley and cilantro. A jalapeno or chili pepper is optional; my family loves them.
The last step before you place the tagine on the stove is to add
water (sometimes stock or broth is used instead). Pour it carefully into
the tagine near the side so that you don't wash away the spices on the
veggies. Be aware that you should not add a hot liquid to a cold tagine,
and vice versa, as thermal shock can crack a clay or ceramic tagine.
How much water should you add to a tagine? If a recipe doesn't specify, my general rule of thumb is to use the following:
2 to 2 1/2 cups water for a large lamb or beef tagine with vegetables (half that amount of water for chicken due to shorter cooking time)
1 to 1 1/4 cups water for a small lamb or beef tagine with vegetables (again, half that amount for chicken)
Place the tagine over low to medium-low heat and be very patient while the tagine slowly reaches a simmer.
To avoid cracking or breaking a clay or ceramic tagine, make sure it sits above the heat source and not directly on it. A diffuser will
be necessary for electric and flat cook tops and is generally
recommended for other heat sources as well. I didn't bother to use one
on my stove shown here because the tagines did not come in contact with
the low flames.
Tagines can also be cooked
outdoors over coals. Special tagine braziers are often used in Morocco,
but the tagine may also be placed on the rack of a grill or over a
small fire on the ground (use rocks to keep the tagine over the flames.)
These methods are a bit trickier to maintain adequately low temperature
and require more attention than stove top cooking.
Once a tagine reaches a simmer (it can take up to a half hour if
there is a lot of liquid), it can be left relatively undisturbed to
slowly stew. Reduce the heat slightly if the tagine is simmering
rapidly; ideally you want a slow or medium simmer instead.
The
beef tagines I was making here would require about three hours of
simmering; chicken might need only half that time while lamb can take an
hour longer.
I checked the level of the cooking liquids after about two hours. Here you can see that
the liquid in the small tagine was already reduced to sauce-like
consistency. Since the meat needed another hour of cooking, I went ahead
and added 1/4 cup water.
Now to check on the other tagine.
The larger tagine still had ample liquid, so there was no need to add
any water for the last hour of cooking. I closed the lid and left it
alone. If this much liquid remained when the meat was nearly cooked,
however, I might prop the lid open with a spoon to allow for quicker
reduction.
Tagines double as serving dishes which help hold the food warm on the
table. Moroccan tradition is to gather round and eat communally from the
tagine, using pieces of Moroccan bread (Try this delicious Moroccan semolina bread!)
to scoop and sop up sauce, veggies and meat. Be forewarned, though –
it's best allow the tagine to cool for 10 or 15 minutes before digging
in or there will be burnt fingers and tongues!
Good
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