Moroccan Tagine Cooking

[btbyrd]

Paula Wolfert's books on clay pot cookery and Moroccan cuisine are classics in the field and I've read a few of them, but I'm trying to see if there's a more contemporary resource with lots of photos that could provide some quick inspiration. It's hard to make sense of a lot of the recent publications, at least I can find on Amazon and B&N. There have been a lot of publications in the last ten or fifteen years, and while it's easy to weed out a lot of the self-published stuff and obvious low-quality offerings, I'm not sure what's really good out of the remainder. Maybe I should contact Kitchen Arts and Letters and see what they recommend (and then buy it from them like a person of quality).

 

I have a very nice Japanese tagine that doesn't get enough use, and I'm hoping to remedy that with cold weather and stew/braise season right around the corner.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 hours ago, btbyrd said:

Paula Wolfert's books on clay pot cookery and Moroccan cuisine are classics in the field and I've read a few of them, but I'm trying to see if there's a more contemporary resource with lots of photos that could provide some quick inspiration. It's hard to make sense of a lot of the recent publications, at least I can find on Amazon and B&N. There have been a lot of publications in the last ten or fifteen years, and while it's easy to weed out a lot of the self-published stuff and obvious low-quality offerings, I'm not sure what's really good out of the remainder. Maybe I should contact Kitchen Arts and Letters and see what they recommend (and then buy it from them like a person of quality).

 

I have a very nice Japanese tagine that doesn't get enough use, and I'm hoping to remedy that with cold weather and stew/braise season right around the corner.

 

Your Japanese tagine appears to be glazed though?

 

[btbyrd]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Your Japanese tagine appears to be glazed though?

 

Yes, not unlike something from Emile Henry. I have never really seen the virtues in unglazed clay cookware, but I see plenty of drawbacks when it comes to cleaning, care, and maintenance. 

[Rickbern]

On 10/28/2023 at 1:53 PM, btbyrd said:

What tagine cookbooks are people liking these days? 

I’ve found this one pretty good. It’s 4 bucks on kindle and the recipe for kamama chicken is banging.
 

It’s really written with a home cook in mind. She’s not quite the purist that Paula Wolfert was, but lots of the recipes are interesting.  There’s also a Monkfish tagine with apricots, dates & fennel that I’ve made repeatedly 

 

Casablanca: my Moroccan food by Nargisse Benkabbou

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078W64Q4J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Edited October 30, 2023 by Rickbern (log)

[Rickbern]

7 hours ago, btbyrd said:

Yes, not unlike something from Emile Henry. I have never really seen the virtues in unglazed clay cookware, but I see plenty of drawbacks when it comes to cleaning, care, and maintenance. 

I think the only advantage of unglazed is that it makes the food taste better!

 

but on a serious note, that Japanese tagine seems sort  of shallow compared to the Moroccan style. There’s a fair bit of liquid to enclose in a lot of tagine recipes. 

Edited October 30, 2023 by Rickbern (log)

[TdeV]

@Rickbern, what is in the tagine pictured?

 

Looks delicious!

 

Edited October 30, 2023 by TdeV (log)

[Rickbern]

10 hours ago, TdeV said:

@Rickbern, what is in the tagine pictured?

 

Looks delicious!

 

Artichokes peas and potatoes. There’s a related recipe where you use red meat instead of the potatoes 

 

something like this

 

https://www.mymoroccanfood.com/home/artichoke-tagine-with-peas-and-preserved-lemon-vegan

[Tempest63]

I have a penchant for Tagines as well as a love of all things Le Creuset. We also have a local Le Creuset outlet store that sells at way below High Street prices. 
When we moved to an induction hob our old ceramic Tagine was no longer viable, so over the years I have picked up four Le Creuset Tagines of varying colours, sizes and depths. They have been used on many evenings when we have friends around for a Moroccan themed evening and have consistently turned out great results.

 

I have several Moroccan/Tagine/Couscous recipe books and will always keep any recipes that appear on line. I’ve found over the years that authors promoting their latest cookbooks give permission for one or two of the headline recipes to be printed in the press, Sunday Supplements being a great source of these. I collect these as and when they arise and have obtained a few good Tagine recipes that way. 
 

These are my babies resting on our Neff 5 ring induction hob. No doubt they will be added to as and when the outlet store has the right product at the right price.

 

Edited Tuesday at 05:33 AM by Tempest63 (log)

[Smithy]

7 hours ago, Tempest63 said:

I have a penchant for Tagines as well as a love of all things Le Creuset. We also have a local Le Creuset outlet store that sells at way below High Street prices. 
When we moved to an induction hob our old ceramic Tagine was no longer viable, so over the years I have picked up four Le Creuset Tagines of varying colours, sizes and depths. They have been used on many evenings when we have friends around for a Moroccan themed evening and have consistently turned out great results.

 

I have several Moroccan/Tagine/Couscous recipe books and will always keep any recipes that appear on line. I’ve found over the years that authors promoting their latest cookbooks give permission for one or two of the headline recipes to be printed in the press, Sunday Supplements being a great source of these. I collect these as and when they arise and have obtained a few good Tagine recipes that way. 
 

These are my babies resting on our Neff 5 ring induction hob. No doubt they will be added to as and when the outlet store has the right product at the right price.

 

 

Those are beautiful! I'd love to see them in action, if you don't mind. Show us some of your results, and if you have favorite recipes that you can share by link -- or at least describe -- that would be great too.

 

I think I'd be in serious trouble if I lived near a Le Creuset outlet. The kitchen's already pretty crowded. 😉 

[Tempest63]

As mentioned they need a run out. 
I don’t do Moroccan or Middle Eastern as much as I should do so finding a favourite is a bit of struggle.

I picked up a couple of recipes from the press recently and the Kefteh/Kofta Tagine from Paula Wolferts The cooking ofMorocco was a recurring dish so I would give that a thumbs up.

I am planning on trialling a few new recipes, I’ll let you know how I get on.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Here's my Le Creuset tagine...

 

 

 

I had to order from Europe as the larger 31 cm Le Creuset tagine was not available in North America, nor was either size tagine in Volcanique.  Not to mention the 31 cm tagine in Volcanique.  One simply cannot mix colors of Le Creuset.   @chefmd may disagree.

 

https://www.amazon.fr/Creuset-Tajine-émaillée-céramique-volcanique/dp/B001IKK2FY?th=1

 

 

It's been some years since I've prepared a tagine in the Le Creuset.  I use the Le Creuset for strong seafood flavors such as shrimp that I don't want absorbed by my unglazed clay tagine.