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150 Best Tagine Recipes
Including Tantalizing Recipes for Spice Blends and Accompaniments
by Pat Crocker
Paperback, 224 pages
Including Tantalizing Recipes for Spice Blends and Accompaniments
by Pat Crocker
Paperback, 224 pages
Do you... tagine? I have to admit, I have a love affair with these beautiful cooking vessels and the deeply fragrant dishes that they produce. In North American cookware stores they come in two basic varieties: cast iron bottomed ones that can be used on the stove-top and in the oven, and the glazed and unglazed terra cotta or ceramic ones that are used in the oven only. They are generally brightly coloured and often have intricate painting on them. I think they are beautiful just to look at - but of course they are wonderful to cook with too.
Cast iron bottomed tagine, safe for stove-top cooking and oven cooking.
Glazed and unglazed terra cotta or ceramic tagines
are good for the oven but not stove-top.
are good for the oven but not stove-top.
Unglazed ones (plain like flowerpots) need to be soaked first.
Tagines make great Christmas presents!
Santa? Are you reading this?
Santa? Are you reading this?
Pat Crocker de-mystifies tagine cooking and makes it accessible to the North American cook. In 150 Best Tagine Recipes she introduces us to the flavours and ingredients of North Africa and offers tons of delicious recipes for all different kinds of tagines as well as condiments, sauces, sides, salads, beverages and even desserts!
The flavours of tagine cooking are warm and complex, leaving little need for extra salt. This makes tagine cooking one of the healthiest ways to eat - unless you are like me and sneak a little salt in anyway. Ahem. Don't tell my doc.
You can spice up your serving to taste with the traditional condiments - my favourites being harissa (traditional Moroccan spicy hot sauce) and preserved lemon. Seriously, I would be tempted to put them on just about anything. I love that kind of table-side dressing up of my meals. And as I like my foods hotter than... just about anyone else I eat with - I can tailor the heat on my own plate. Perfect!
The author uses the stove-top method for browning and cooking the ingredients to cater to the modern kitchen, but the recipes are easily adaptable for oven cooking for those of use with more delicate tagines.
We had an all-tagine weekend and whipped up these gloriously fragrant dishes: Beef Tagine with Squash and Beets, and Golden Chicken with Potatoes and Chickpeas. Delicious! I made the Buttered Almond Couscous, Harissa, and Preserved Lemon to accompany them. I love a cuisine with accessories. ☺
Rustic and hearty, this warming winter tagine uses ginger and hot chile pepper for a touch of spicy heat.
Tip: I recommend the use of organic, cold-pressed extra virgin avocado oil in the tagine recipes in this book because it is excellent for medium to high heat cooking. Unlike other polyunsaturated oils, olive oil in particular, avocado oil does not break down under high heat cooking. It is an excellent source of vitamin E and contains beneficial omega-3, 6 and 9 fatty acids.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Medium or large tagine
3 tbsp avocado or olive oil 45 mL
1 onion, cut in half and sliced 1
1 tbsp Ras el Hanout (page 50) or hot sauce 15 mL
1 lb cubed stewing beef 500 g
4 cloves garlic, crushed 4
1 hot chile pepper, chopped, or 1
1 dried cayenne pepper, crushed
1 slice candied ginger, chopped 1
4 medium beets, quartered 4
2 cups diced squash 500 mL
1 cup beef broth 250 mL
2 oranges, cut into segments 2
2 cups fresh or frozen chopped Swiss chard 500 mL
1⁄2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf 125 mL
parsley
1. In the bottom of a flameproof tagine, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and ras el hanout and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add beef, garlic, chile pepper and ginger, stirring well to coat beef with vegetables and seasonings. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes or until beef is browned on all sides.
2. Add beets, squash and broth and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cover with tagine lid, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Add oranges and Swiss chard, replace lid and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Beef should cut easily with a fork and if not quite tender, replace cover and cook until beef is tender. Garnish with parsley.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Two colorful and aromatic spices combine in this beautiful dish for tastes fit for a sultan. Chickpeas and potatoes give substance to the tagine, which carries the meal.
Tip: For chicken pieces, you can use breasts, legs, thighs or drumsticks.
Medium or large tagine
3 tbsp melted butter 45 mL
20 strands saffron 20
1 tbsp ground turmeric 15 mL
3 tbsp avocado or olive oil 45 mL
2 onions, cut into quarters 2
4 medium potatoes, cut into wedges 4
4 to 6 skinless bone-in chicken pieces 4 to 6
(about 21⁄2 lbs/1.25 kg) (see Tip, left)
1 cup chicken broth 250 mL
1 piece (2 inches/5 cm) cinnamon stick 1
1 can (14 to 19 oz/398 to 540 mL) 1
chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1⁄4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 60 mL
1. In a bowl, combine melted butter, saffron and turmeric. Set aside.
2. In the bottom of a flameproof tagine, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and potatoes and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add spice mixture and chicken, meaty side down, sliding around and moving vegetables away from bottom so that flesh is in direct contact with bottom of tagine. Cook for about 5 minutes or until chicken is browned on meaty side.
3. Using tongs, turn chicken over. Add broth and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Cover with tagine lid, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring once, for 25 minutes.
4. Stir in chickpeas and parsley. Replace lid and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until chickpeas are heated through and chicken is longer pink inside for breasts and juices run clear for thighs. Discard cinnamon stick prior to serving.
Cinnamon Lamb Tagine with Apricots
Cinnamon is one of the key ingredients in North African spice blends. Here its sweetness is balanced by the tartness of the dried apricots.
Tip: For this quantity of cooked chickpeas, soak and cook 1⁄2 cup (125 mL) dried chickpeas or use 1 cup (250 mL) canned, drained and rinsed.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Medium or large tagine
3 tbsp avocado or olive oil 45 mL
1 onion, cut into quarters 1
1 tbsp Moroccan Cinnamon Spice Blend 15 mL
(page 47) or store-bought
garam masala
11⁄2 lbs boneless lamb leg, trimmed and cubed 750 g
2 cloves garlic, chopped 2
1 can (14 oz/398 mL) diced tomatoes 1
with juice
2 carrots, cut into coins 2
1 medium zucchini, chopped 1
1⁄2 cup sliced dried apricots 125 mL
1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained 250 mL
(see Tip, left)
1 tbsp liquid honey 15 mL
1. In the bottom of a flameproof tagine, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add spice blend, lamb and garlic, stirring to coat lamb with vegetables and seasonings. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 7 minutes or until lamb is browned on all sides.
2. Add tomatoes with juice, carrots, zucchini and apricots and bring liquids to a boil, stirring frequently. Cover with tagine lid, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
3. Stir in chickpeas and honey, replace lid and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until lamb is tender. Lamb should cut easily with a fork and if not quite tender, replace cover and simmer until tender.
Recipes excerpted from 150 Best Tagine
Recipes by Pat Crocker © 2011 Robert Rose Inc. www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with
permission. All rights reserved.
photos of the empty tagines are from nextstep.com
