Mastering Tagine: The Ultimate Pot Cooking Experience

Tagine is a Moroccan dish that is cooked and served in a tagine pot, a colourful earthenware pot. The dish is a fragrant stew that combines sweet and savoury flavours. It is traditionally made with meat, chicken or fish, and cooked slowly with lemons, vegetables, onions, and olives. Spices such as cumin, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, turmeric, parsley, or cilantro are also added to create a unique flavour profile.

Cooking a tagine in a tagine pot involves first browning the meat and then slowly cooking it with the vegetables, spices, and liquids. The tight-fitting cone-shaped lid of the tagine pot helps to trap the steam and aromatic vapours, allowing them to drip back over the ingredients and infuse them with flavour.

While a traditional tagine pot is ideal for cooking this dish, it is not necessary. Alternative cooking vessels such as a Dutch oven, slow cooker, or instant pot can also be used to achieve similar results.

Preparing the ingredients

Start by gathering your desired combination of meat, chicken, or fish, which forms the base of your tagine. For meat lovers, lamb shanks or your preferred lamb cuts are a great option, while chicken thighs or leg quarters are ideal for chicken enthusiasts. Remember to remove the skin from the chicken for a healthier option.

Next, select an array of vegetables to accompany your protein of choice. Onions, garlic cloves, and lemons are essential components, so be sure to include them. You can also add other vegetables like eggplants, zucchini, or tomatoes for extra flavour and texture. Don't forget to thinly slice the onions and grate the garlic cloves to ensure they cook evenly.

Olives, either green or Kalamata, are another key ingredient in a tagine. Pitted olives ensure there are no unwanted surprises while enjoying your dish. Additionally, consider including dried fruit such as prunes or dates to add a touch of sweetness to your creation. If you prefer a more savoury tagine, you can omit this step.

Spices are what truly bring a tagine to life. Gather cumin, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, turmeric, parsley, and cilantro to create an aromatic blend. You can also make your own ras el hanout, a North African spice mix, by combining black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, mace, paprika, and turmeric. Remember, spices should be fresh to ensure an intensely flavoured tagine.

Lastly, you'll need some cooking oil and, optionally, plain yogurt. Olive oil is an excellent choice for its distinct flavour, but you can use any vegetable oil of your preference. If you're feeling adventurous, try drizzling some olive oil from Crete, Greece, for an authentic Mediterranean touch. As for the yogurt, you can use it as a base for a refreshing sauce to accompany your tagine. Simply whisk it with lemon juice and finely chopped mint leaves, adjusting the seasoning to your taste.

Browning the meat

If you are using a Dutch oven, you can brown the meat in batches. This will save you from the hassle of oil splatter and cooking in batches. However, if you want to keep it to one pot, you can sear the meat in your Dutch oven. Do this in three or four batches for about four to five minutes per side until they are nicely browned on all sides.

If you are using a tagine pot, you will need to brown the meat in a separate pan. Place the lamb shanks in a metal baking pan and toss in two tablespoons of olive oil to coat. Broil until browned on both sides – about 10 minutes per side.

Cooking the vegetables

Vegetables are a key component of a tagine, and the cooking process is simple. First, prepare your chosen vegetables by slicing or chopping them into bite-sized pieces. Common vegetables used in tagines include onions, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes, but you can also add eggplants, zucchini, or winter squash for a unique twist.

Once your vegetables are prepared, heat some olive oil in your tagine pot over medium heat. Add the vegetables to the pot and cook them until they are soft and fragrant. This usually takes around 8 minutes. If you are using onions, cook them first before adding other vegetables like garlic. You can also add spices like cumin, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, or turmeric to the vegetables for extra flavour.

After the vegetables are softened, you can add other ingredients such as meat or chicken, along with any liquids like stock or water. Place the lid on your tagine pot and transfer it to a preheated oven to slow cook the dish. The tagine pot's unique cone-shaped lid will trap the steam and allow it to drip back over the ingredients, infusing them with flavour.

Feel free to experiment with different combinations of vegetables and spices to create your own unique tagine. You can also add dried fruits like apricots, prunes, or raisins to give your tagine a sweet and savoury balance.

Adding spices and seasoning

Tagines are revered for their balance of sweet and savoury flavours. The dish is a combination of soft meats, vegetables, and spices, often lightly sweetened with fruit. The spices and seasoning used in a tagine are what set it apart from other stews.

A heady mix of spices called ras el hanout is at the heart of a good tagine. In North Africa, each cook traditionally makes their own often highly complex spice blend. However, you can use a simple mixture of spices that are easy to find. Spices used in a tagine include ginger, cinnamon, clove, cumin, coriander, saffron, turmeric, and cardamom. These spices are used to bring out the sweetness of the meat, alongside braised fruit (apricots, prunes, or raisins) and savory seasonings (parsley, pepper, or saffron).

When preparing a tagine, cooks usually strive for a balance of sweet and savoury flavours. This is achieved by using spices like ginger, cinnamon, or clove to enhance the sweetness of the meat, while also adding braised fruit and savory seasonings. The dish is usually served with flatbread for dipping in the complex and fragrant sauce.

• Fresh spices are integral to getting an intensely flavoured sauce. Smell the spices to check if they are fresh; if they are not noticeably fragrant, they will not add noticeable flavour to the tagine.
• It is often more economical to shop at a spice retailer as they tend to grind the spices more frequently on-site, making them fresher and longer-lasting.
• Some recipes use ras el hanout, a North African spice mix that contains black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, mace, paprika, and turmeric, among other spices. Each mix is different and can contain up to 30 different spices.
• Both ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks are used in some tagine recipes. They have slightly different flavours and work together for a more nuanced cinnamon taste in both the meat and the sauce.
• Taking a moment to cook the tomato paste in oil before adding liquid caramelizes the paste, enriching its flavour and ridding it of any metallic taste.
• Adding half the herbs at the beginning of cooking and half at the end gives the tagine both depth of flavour and a pop of freshness.
• Personalize the recipe to suit your tastes. For example, use bone-in beef instead of lamb for a less gamey and slightly sweeter flavour.

Serving suggestions

Tagine is a Moroccan dish, although it is common throughout North Africa. It is traditionally cooked and served in a tagine pot, which is a type of earthenware pot with a dual role in cooking and serving food. The pot has a distinctive conical lid, which traps steam inside, allowing it to circulate and drip back onto the ingredients, keeping them moist.

When serving tagine, it is important to remember that the base of the pot will be hot, so protect your table. The tagine pot is a great serving dish, as it is often decorative, and the food can be served straight from the pot.

Tagine is traditionally served with flatbread for dipping in the sauce. You can use any type of flatbread, such as pita bread, served at room temperature or warmed up. It can also be served with couscous, either on the side or spread on a platter with the tagine poured on top. Polenta is another option, although this is less common.

There are many different types of tagine recipes, but they usually feature a blend of sweet and savoury flavours. Common ingredients include meat, chicken, or fish, with lemons, vegetables (especially onions), and olives, flavoured with spices such as cumin, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, turmeric, parsley, or cilantro.

Some popular tagine recipes include:

• Moroccan chicken meatball tagine
• Vegetable tagine with apricots
• Beef tagine with creamed polenta
• Shakshuka (eggs in a spicy tomato sauce)
• Meatball tagine in tomato sauce

Frequently asked questions