rinemb - Posted - 02/17/2011:  09:45:17

I got interested in tagine cookers and morrocan chicken with preserved lemons, so:

last night I made preserved lemons, using this guide:
simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_...d_lemons/

Here is one of many varieties of this multi-spiced meal:
simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moro...d_olives/

Pic of dish:


pic of a variety of tagines. you can use on stove top with metal plate or buy a clay majmar/brazier to effeciently cook with a few coals:


majmar;

Edited by - rinemb on 02/17/2011 09:46:21

dat - Posted - 02/17/2011:  10:02:59

I never have cooked in a flower pot before, how do those work?

inniepie - Posted - 02/17/2011:  10:10:03

Wow, that's a keeper - and of course I must go buy a tagine now...

rinemb - Posted - 02/17/2011:  11:07:18

many things you can do in a tagine, based on my research. But the morrocan chicken is a biggie. youtube search morrocan chicken and you can see the process on video. A plain pottery tagine even in the 12-13 inch size can be found for 30.00 or less, and a majmar or brazier for under 30.00. I think I will use my small cast iron hibachi for a fire pot. Stove top if you put a piece of steel in between. I have an old ribbed adn vented round steel burner plate I will use for stove top.
Right now, my lemons are juicing in the jar with the salt. Tomorrow I put the jars in the fridge. By the time my tagine arrives, my lemons will be ready. The morrocan chicken could just be made in a cast iron skillet, I am sure.

Brad

boyratchet - Posted - 02/17/2011:  14:55:57

I lived in Morocco for a year, and I became quite accustomed to cooking with a tajine. They are kind of like a traditional crock pot.

Try mixing different dried fruit (prunes, apricots, raisins, etc) with different kinds of meat (chicken, lamb, beef, veal, etc). Nuts are common addition as are different kinds of root vegetables. Cauliflower worked well too...slow cooked at low heat with meat and spices...mmmmmm...

One nice dish I had was fresh peas cooked with eggs, oil and spices. The eggs were left in the shell and allowed to semi-hard boil. Once the peas were cooked, they were removed, peeled, chopped and mashed together with the peas into a paste. We ate it with bread and coffee.

Cracking a few fresh eggs over a meatball concoction was quite popular.

One typical dish I would highly recommend is chicken, prunes, potatoes and onions.

The combination are limited only by your imagination. The only thing I would recommend is to try to use lots of spices (like Indian food but not hot) and make sure they work with the ingredients, and don't be afraid of combining sweet and savory.

rinemb - Posted - 02/18/2011:  06:53:05

Thanks Boyratchet, for all of those suggestions. I ordered my tagine yesterday and my lemons will be ready in a few weeks. I am going to have to review my spice rack and the list of popular spices to have on hand. I have a great spice store just up the street from me. Do you have a ready list handy of teh spices I should have on hand.
Brad

KE - Posted - 02/18/2011:  07:52:28

I see some tajines online that have an enamel coated cast iron base and ceramic top. These look good?

Surveying a few recipes -- they all look appealing. I see coriander and cumin used regularly, along with powdered ginger, and other more or less standard spices.

brokenstrings - Posted - 02/18/2011:  09:45:46

The mixed tajins (cast-iron base) come with warnings about the temperature. I don't recommend them anyhow, because they slosh over the bottom. Get the real thing. Heavily decorated ones for serving rather than cooking.

I like the typical Fasi (from Fez) combination of preserved lemon and lamb. Also such combinations as orange, cinnamon and olives.

A good spice: Ras al-Hanut, "top of the shop." Actually a varying mixture of spices.

rinemb - Posted - 02/18/2011:  10:35:17

Yes, I am anxious to do some lamb dishes. I like the idea of mixing fruits with savory flavors. Jessy do you use one over a stove burner or over a brazier type of pot with charcoal? Brad

dawgdoc - Posted - 02/18/2011:  11:43:37

Hey, I have one of those and I've never really used it for what its supposed to be. Thank for the reminder! Last year I bought 1/2 a lamb and tried it all sorts of different ways. My absolute favorite was still roasted after marinating in a greek yogurt sauce. Pretty traditional, classic.

brokenstrings - Posted - 02/18/2011:  15:58:38

quote:

---

Originally posted by rinemb

Yes, I am anxious to do some lamb dishes. I like the idea of mixing fruits with savory flavors. Jessy do you use one over a stove burner or over a brazier type of pot with charcoal? Brad

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rinemb - Posted - 03/23/2011:  12:53:09

I finally got my Tagine in the mail and made my first Morrocan Tagine Chicken. It turned out great and simple to make. I served ith with Carolina Rice. My homemade preserved lemons in the dish were really good-though, been better if had made them with Meyer lemons. the morrocan spice blend was really nice to my pallate. You could make this is any clay cooker I am sure, or even in a metal skillet.
I bought a 12-inch tagine, though I did get a glazed one, then ran a lead test on the glaze. 12-inch barely holds 6 pcs of legs and thighs. It looks like this:


Brad

Edited by - rinemb on 03/23/2011 13:00:21

desert rose - Posted - 03/23/2011:  17:56:46

Ive had a tagine for about a year and love it. Im concentrating on learning using one for the intended flavors and recipes, so lots of lamb or chicken, mixed with dried fruits and interesting mix of North African spices

Very flavorful good food

Scott

Micki - Posted - 03/23/2011:  18:21:54

I have and love these. Lamb is really good cooked in one. I was engaged to a swiss guy who used to cook on the French riveria, and he got me into all these foods and the way to really bring out the flavors. Micki