seabream

I just wanted to let everyone know that I started a topic about cooking with this book on the African cooking forum: Hope I'll see you there!

It's about time we have a topic for this book on eGullet. Anyone else cooking with it? Here's what I've made from it so far: Marrakech tagine bread, page 101 It tasted good, but it puffed up more than it should have, in the oven. We loved the semolina taste, and will be trying this one again. Grilled red pepper salad, page 89 This dish is fantastic. We ate it with the tagine bread, and we thought it pairs really nicely with bread. A winner. Although... the amount of salt is way off (2 tsp). I wonder if the mistake is in the amount of salt in the ingredient list, or if she forgot to say to rinse the roasted peppers after being salted, but either way this would have been way too much salt. We reduced on the salt, and still thought it was a bit on the salty side. Fish tagine with tomatoes, olives, and preserved lemons, page 246 I had high expectations for this dish, but wasn't that impressed. The charmoula does indeed have a wonderful flavor, but we thought it overwhelmed the fish. We love fish and prefer dishes where its subtle flavor comes through. Today I'm planning to make: Eggplant zaalouk, page 93 Tomatoes, preserved lemons, and sweet red peppers, page 86 Briwats with goat cheese and honey filling, page 147 Has anyone made any of the dishes I'll be making today? Any advice is welcome. Either way, I'll report back on those three dishes.

Replying to some questions: - I don't have the heads, just the body shells. Good to know the heads make such a difference - I may start buying head-on shrimp to get more flavorful stock. - I'm planning to use the stock to make shellfish rice (similar concept to shellfish risotto, but the technique and ingredients are a bit different). So yes, I guess that for this use, I wouldn't really need a very intense stock. Actually, if anyone has a favorite recipe or idea for using shellfish stock (other than soups and rice), I'd love to hear about it. I accumulate shrimp shells pretty quickly and I'm getting tired of my usual go-to uses.

I have lots of shrimp shells that I've been collecting in my freezer, and I'm planning to make shellfish stock. In the past, I've always added a few veggies chopped small (carrots, mushrooms, onions) and water and boiled everything for 20-30 minutes. But this time I want to try new techniques, in particular: * I'm thinking of chopping the shrimp shells in the food processor. I am hoping to achieve a more concentrated shrimp flavor, since I won't need to add so much water to cover them. This is such an obvious idea that I'm wondering why I haven't heard of it before. Has anyone tried this? * I'm thinking of making the stock in the pressure cooker. This is my tool of choice for chicken stock, but I never tried it for vegetable or shrimp stock. The Modernist Cuisine recommend cooking shrimp stock sous vide, but my sous vide isn't big enough (I'm using a small rice cooker). Is there any reason why I shouldn't use the pressure cooker? I was thinking of cooking it for 5 minutes with natural release. Any advice, opinions, ideas are very appreciated. I'll be happy to report the results to this thread.

Fantastic replies everyone! haresfur - that really was a great explanation. Thanks for teaching us something.

I've been having a really hard time peeling sous vide eggs cooked to my definition of perfection (65C yolk just set, and white also just set, using 80C water and timing the cooking). The set white completely sticks to the shell, and I always end up with a perfectly cooked yolk, with lots of bits of perfectly cooked white on the side. Disappointing. I am wondering if anyone has tricks or tool recommendations that help keep the peeled egg intact.

I have a glazed clay casserole, and have the following questions about its care: 1. Can I place the casserole directly in a hot oven? Or do I need to place it in a cold oven and then turn it on, like is recommended for unglazed casseroles? 2. Can I place a room-temperature casserole under the broiler? Or should I place it in the cold oven when I turn on the broiler? Or should I simply not use it under the broiler? Any comments are very appreciated!

Coffee filter paper is a good idea. Thanks. Elizabeth - we need to keep in touch then. I've been experimenting with all sorts of Portuguese desserts, but I never bring those topics to eGullet because I just assumed there wouldn't be much interest. I make wonderful pasteis de nata too. I'm getting ready to season my pao de lo pot, and here's what I was thinking of doing: 1. Soak for 1 hour. 2. Rub all over with canola oil (outside too, or just inside?) 3. Place in cold oven, set to 350F and bake for 2 hours. Is this how you seasoned yours, or do you have a different method?

Very interesting. How many yolks and eggs do you use for that size? I was planning to use anywhere from 12-14 yolks and 4 or 5 whole eggs for the size I have. I see you're based in Equador, and I'm curious, is pao de lo traditional there too? (Or maybe you learned about it from your Brazilian friend?)

Thank you so much for the very informative reply! I assume that you've made this cake before with the clay pot? Is your clay pot in the same shape and size (9" diameter, 4 1/2" high) as mine?

I recently bought the unglazed clay pot in the photo, but haven't yet used it. I bought it in Portugal in an outdoor market, and it's used to make a traditional Portuguese dessert called "pao de lo", which takes nothing but eggs, sugar and flour. The clay pot is supposed to be lined with the porous paper in the photo, and then the batter is poured in and baked. I attached another photo with a slice of the finished cake. I don't expect anyone here to have experience with this particular pot and cake, but I think that general cooking experience may help answer my questions. Now my questions: 1. How should I season it? All clay pot seasoning instructions I see include ingredients usually used in savory cooking, such as olive oil, and I'm unsure about using those here. I know I should have asked the old lady who sold it to me, but I didn't... 2. What should I use as a replacement for the porous paper used in Portugal? (I brought back one sheet of it, the one you see in the photo, to try to find it in the US) I could use parchment, but it doesn't seem quite as porous as the one in Portugal, and I'm wondering if that makes a difference in the results. 3. Can I put it directly in a hot oven, or should I preheat the oven with the pot inside, take the pot out, fill it with the batter, and put it back in? I thought that unglazed clay pots always had to go in a cold oven, but in this article - http://www.marthaste...-tomatoes-olive - Paula Wolfert has instructions to add her fish tagra (which is unglazed clay) directly to a preheated oven. Or at least I assume the instructions are for a tagra, since that's what's shown in the photo and the video, although I realize now the instructions don't mention to use a tagra specifically. 4. What's the point of using the traditional clay pot to make this cake? I understand that the main advantage of using unglazed clay pots in general is the accumulation of flavors over years of use, but since we add the paper, it doesn't seem that that would happen in this case. Is there any other advantage? Does this unglazed clay pot have better heat conductivity than a regular cake metal pan? (Please someone say yes I'd like to believe there's a point for me to own this pot.) Thank you in advance for any thoughts, comments, or replies.

That makes my lack of knowledge of Moroccan food obvious, and I don't deny it But it doesn't disprove my point - if not galangal, then kaffir lime, or whatever other ingredient is present in Thai curries but not in Moroccan food.

I found the following about broiling the contents of the bottom of an unglazed tagine: * In this thread http://forums.egullet.org/topic/63502-moroccan-tagine-cooking/ Paula says: "For the final browning, the clay in the tagine is hot enough to stand broiling or last minute browning in a hot oven." * tagines.com recommends a temperature no higher than 350F for both their Rifi and Souss tagines: http://www.tagines.com/pd-moroccan-rifi-tagine-l.cfm http://www.tagines.com/pd-moroccan-souss-tagine.cfm So, the seller doesn't recommend broiling, but it seems to work fine for some. I guess it's all about how comfortable one is to push the limits.

Actually, you touched on yet another point that I've been thinking about. I think that the melding of flavors of unglazed pots is a good thing as long as we use a particular unglazed pot for a set of cuisines with similar flavors. I read some tagine reviews where people were saying that they love their tagine so much that they use it for all their slow cooking needs, such as Thai curries, etc. That makes me cringe. The idea of tasting coconut milk and galangal on my next lamb and date tagine is not appealing.

Syzygies - you touch on a topic that I've been thinking a lot about. In the "Mediterranean clay pot cooking" book, Paula mentions the following advantages of using earthenware pots: * They transmit an "earthy" flavor to the food, the same way that food cooked in a wood-fired stove acquires the flavor and smell of wood. * The flavors accumulate over the years, producing more delicious food. * The clay heats gently and distributes the heat evenly. I wonder if these advantages apply equally to unglazed and glazed pots. My guess is that the heat condutivity applies to both, the accumulation of flavors applies only to unglazed, and I'm not sure if the "earthy" flavor applies to both or just unglazed. I am starting to not understand the advantages of owning a glazed pot, such as a cazuela. They need more care than pyrex (I assume they also can't take sudden changes of temperature?), and I'm convinced that they don't improve the flavor of the dish the same way as an unglazed pot. Or do they? Smithy - Good point about the mixing of meat and fish flavors. If I have one tagine that I use for meat, that is reason enough not to use the bottom to cook fish. I am also convinced that it should be possible to broil the contents of a hot tagine bottom. Maybe getting a Souss tagine, which contains mica, is a good idea (vs a Rif one which doesn't) if I plan to use it under the broiler. I will check the braising thread - thanks for the recommendation.

And one more question: 5. Can I place an unglazed tagine bottom under the broiler?

Does that mean you can't place the bottom of an unglazed tagine under the broiler? (After being hot from the prolonged cooking.)

I've read the previous eGullet threads on this subject, and they were very informative, but I'm still left with a few questions: 1. Paula Wolfert mentions both in "The food of Morocco" and "Mediterranean clay pot cooking" that flameware clay pots are very practical because they can sustain sudden differences of temperature. She points to the following source: http://www.claycoyote.com/Flameware_Tagine_p/tagine.htm. I am wondering if there's any disadvantage of going with flameware in terms of cooking results. Basically, I like simplifying but I am not willing to compromise on flavor/results in favor of practicality. 2. Emile Henry flame top tagines have good reviews on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Emile-Henry-Flame-Quart-Tagine/dp/B0015FG0IA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1357860152&sr=8-6&keywords=emile+henry+tagine). I understand that they have the same resistance to differences of temperature as the Clay Coyote flameware Paula points to. I am wondering if the quality of the results is comparable to Clay Coyote, and again is there's any loss of flavor when using these. 3. I am considering whether I should buy a tagra too, since my husband and I eat more fish than meat. However, without owning a tagine, it seems to me that the bottom of a traditional unglazed tagine would serve the exact same purpose. Is the bottom of a tagine redundant with a tagra, or do they produce different results? 4. Glazed traditional terracota tagines don't seem to be popular. Are they inferior to unglazed ones? If so, why is that? Thanks in advance for any replies!

Basic question: what would you serve the glazed chicken with apricots with, traditionally? Rice? Bread?

patrickamory: Wow - that chicken tagine looks amazing. Thanks for the details and photos. mkayahara: I was thinking of doing just that - cooking a couple of dishes that don't require a tagine or earthenware, or Moroccan ingredients (argan oil, harissa paste, ras el hanout) and then decide if I should dive deeper. My guess from flipping through the book is that I will want to dive deeper.

I have heard about so many different ways to season unglazed clay pots, and I'm wondering about the science/reasoning behind all of these techniques. I understand that unglazed clay pots need to be seasoned so that they don't crack in the first use. But how exactly does olive oil, garlic, vinegar or molasses contribute to that goal? And is this the only reason why we season them? Thanks in advance for any replies!

Has any of you cooked from this book? Do you like it? Are there any specific recipes that standout? A friend just lent it to me and I'm deciding whether it's worth investing in a tagine and the ingredients needed to start cooking from it.

I bought a Malabar gourd and am planning to make preserves with it. Every recipe I look at advises against using metal utensils to handle it (they advise to break it open by dropping it on the counter a few times, scoop the flesh out with a wooden spoon, etc). The only explanation I have found for this advice is that "the contact with metal alters the flavor of the gourd". Does anyone know the reasoning behind this?

Thank you everyone for all the great replies! Always learning

Most recipes that include boiled chopped potatoes call for boiling the potatoes first, and then chopping the potatoes to the desired size. Why not boiling the potatoes already chopped? The potatoes boil quicker, and cook more evenly. I am wondering if there's a reason why they should be boiled first. Any ideas?