Tagine is a North African cooking method which perfectly roasts vegetables and meats to succulent goodness. They’re becoming more common to find at cooking stores, now sold at William Sonoma and even Amazon. Care of your Tagine is important. When you get your tagine be sure to soak it immersed in water for at least 24 hours (also soak if you have not used it in over six months). Then coat the inside in a good clean cooking oil and bake it at 250 F for a couple of hours. Always put your Tagine in a cold oven and let it come up to temperature. Now you’re ready! You can do virtually any kind of roast or meat in your Tagine. Today I did chicken thighs. You can also vary the spices you use so if you don’t like one of them skip it. I am using garlic and ginger (the tubes make it easy, I don’t like the hatred garlic though, it tastes pickled to me) as well as a blend of dry spices including curry, turmeric, cinnamon and cumin. Of course also salt and pepper. Rub your meat in the spices along with a couple Tbs of nice olive oil and let them sit 2-6 hours if you have the time. When you’re ready to cook, give the bottom of your Tagine a good rub with olive oil. Now add in sliced sweet onions. These provide your moisture for the steam. . You can also add tomatoes for moisture and prunes, preserved lemon or apricots for flavor. Salt and pepper of course too! Next layer on your root veggies. I am just doing carrots today but you can also do potatoes, fennel, cauliflower, or any other hearty veggie. And then later in your meat on top. Once you have all the meat on top, close it up and place it in a cold oven. I like to set it on top of a cookie sheet to avoid a mess in case any of the moisture leaks out. Set the oven to 325 F and let it cook nice and slow for a couple hours. The time needed will vary depending on how full it is and the size of the meat you’re using. Once you can smell it through your house, let it go a while longer and then check on it to ensure the meat is done. The good news with this method is it really can’t dry out so don’t worry about letting it go too long (by like 1/2 an hour, not four ☺️). You will see all the liquid on the bottom which keeps it moist. You can see the chicken is nicely cooked and the flavors have permeated the vegetables, which remain slightly al-debate. No mushy carrots here folks! Transfer to a platter for serving! Enjoy! Make sure you clean your Tagine only with water and salt. No soap! I like to serve with turmeric-flavored basmati rice and a salad.
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Author: KellyI love to cook and care for the people I love! Categories
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November 2020
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