Mastering Tagine: Youtube's Best Recipes And Techniques

Tagine is a traditional Moroccan dish that has gained popularity in France and beyond. The word tagine refers to both the clay cooking pot with a conical lid and the aromatic stew cooked inside. Tagine recipes typically involve layering aromatics, meat, and vegetables, along with spices, oil, and water. The unique cooking vessel and combination of ingredients create a rich, flavourful sauce. While a traditional tagine pot is ideal, it is possible to use alternative cookware, such as a Dutch oven or heavy-covered skillet, to achieve similar results. YouTube offers a variety of channels and videos, such as Master Chef Hamid - How to make authentic Moroccan Tagine and Moroccan Food 101: How To Season A Tagine & Tips For Use!, that provide step-by-step instructions and tips for cooking tagine, making this delicious dish accessible to anyone interested in exploring new culinary adventures.

Preparing the ingredients

Prepare the Meat

For a traditional tagine, you can use lamb, chicken, or beef. If you choose lamb or chicken, it is preferable to use bone-in meat as it adds flavour to the dish. For chicken tagine, you can use a whole cut-up chicken or opt for bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. The thighs remain tender and provide a good amount of meat. For lamb, you can use bone-in lamb stew meat or lamb neck, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

Prepare the Vegetables and Seasonings

The base layer of a tagine typically consists of sliced onions, which prevent the meat from sticking to the bottom and burning. You can also add chopped onions, celery, or crisscrossed carrots to create a bed for delicate ingredients like fish. Garlic is another essential ingredient, and you can chop or press it, or even leave the cloves whole. For a rich sauce, don't skimp on the oil—most recipes call for 1/4 to 1/3 cup. You can use a mix of olive oil and vegetable oil.

Spices and Aromatics

The spices and aromatics are what give the tagine its distinctive flavour. Combine salt, pepper, ginger, paprika, cumin, turmeric, saffron, and a pinch of cayenne pepper in a small bowl. You can also add cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to enhance the sweetness of the meat. Mix the spices well, and set aside. Zesting a lemon and combining it with minced garlic is another great way to add flavour.

Assembly

Now it's time to assemble all the ingredients in the tagine. Arrange the meat in the centre, with the bone-side down if using meat on the bone. Create a mound with the meat to make room for plenty of vegetables around it. If you wish to brown the meat first, it is best to do so in a separate skillet, as high heat should not be used with a clay or ceramic tagine. Add the garlic and onions, followed by the spice mixture. Distribute up to 2/3 of the spice mixture over the meat and onions, concentrating on the onions so that the spices meld with the oil and liquids to form a rich sauce. Then, arrange the vegetables and season them with the remaining spice mixture. You can add bell peppers, preserved lemons, olives, and an herb bouquet of parsley and cilantro for colour and flavour.

Cooking the meat

Tagine is a Moroccan dish that involves cooking meat, vegetables, and spices in a clay pot with a cone-shaped lid. The unique cooking vessel and combination of ingredients create a rich, flavourful sauce that is perfect for scooping up with Moroccan bread or flatbread. Here is a guide to cooking the meat for a delicious tagine.

Preparing the Meat

Start by choosing your meat. Lamb and chicken are popular choices for tagine, but you can also use beef or fish. If you're using lamb, opt for bone-in cuts like lamb neck or shanks, as the bones add flavour to the sauce. For chicken, consider using bone-in, skin-on thighs, which remain tender during cooking and add depth of flavour.

Seasoning the Meat

To enhance the flavour of your meat, season it with salt and pepper before cooking. You can also try more exotic spices like ginger, paprika, cumin, or saffron. If you're using a spice mix like ras el hanout, combine it with a little oil and rub it onto the meat, letting it marinate for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. This will infuse the meat with flavour and make it even more tender.

Browning the Meat

Before assembling your tagine, consider browning the meat in a separate skillet. Heat some oil in a pan over medium-high heat and add the meat in batches, making sure not to crowd the pan. Sear the meat until it is well browned on all sides, using tongs to turn the pieces as needed. This step adds depth of flavour to your dish and helps create a rich sauce.

Now it's time to assemble your tagine. Place the meat in the centre of the pot, arranging it in a mound if using a large cut of meat. If using meat on the bone, place the pieces bone-side-down to prevent scorching. Surround the meat with vegetables and spices, then pour in enough water or stock to reach the desired level. Place the lid on your tagine and cook over low to medium-low heat until the meat is tender. For lamb, this can take up to three hours, while chicken may only need about an hour.

Serving the Tagine

When your tagine is cooked, let it cool for about 10-15 minutes before serving. Traditionally, tagine is served communally, with everyone gathering around the dish and using pieces of Moroccan bread or flatbread to scoop up the meat, vegetables, and sauce. Couscous is also a popular side dish to accompany the meal.

Adding vegetables

The great thing about a tagine is that you can use almost any vegetables you want. It's a great way to empty your fridge! The only rule is to use large chunks of vegetables as they look and taste better. Here are some options:

• Onions and garlic – the usual flavour base suspects.
• Root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, and parsnips.
• Winter squash – these add a touch of sweetness to the dish.
• Other vegetables like capsicum/bell peppers, eggplant/aubergine, cauliflower, zucchini, and tomatoes.
• Dried fruit like apricots and raisins – these add a subtle sweetness to the dish.
• Pulses and legumes like chickpeas and lentils – these bulk up the dish and make it more filling.

Once you've chosen your vegetables, the next step is to add them to the pot. Start by sauteing the onions and garlic in some olive oil. Then, add the rest of your vegetables and stir to combine. It's important to get some colour on the vegetables before adding the liquid, so take your time with this step.

After the vegetables are nicely browned, add the liquid. This can be water or vegetable stock. The liquid should almost cover the vegetables, but not quite, as they will sink during cooking. Bring the liquid to a simmer and then cover the pot. Cook on low heat for 30-40 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

If you're using a tagine, simply prepare the vegetables and liquid in a separate pot and then transfer everything to the tagine. Put the lid on and cook in the oven at a low temperature for at least an hour.

Seasoning and spices

The base of a tagine is usually a layer of sliced onions, which prevents the meat from sticking to the bottom and burning. Garlic is also added at this stage. Ample oil is then added—this is the foundation of a rich sauce. Most recipes specify 1/4 to 1/3 cup of oil, a mix of olive oil and vegetable oil.

Meat, poultry, or fish is then added, usually arranged in a mound in the centre of the tagine. If using meat on the bone, place the pieces bone-side-down to reduce the risk of scorching.

The spices are then added. Combining your spices before adding them allows for a more even distribution of seasoning. A simple Moroccan spice mix can include cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, cardamom, and allspice. Ginger, cinnamon or clove can also be used to bring out the sweetness of the meat. For a more complex blend, you can make your own ras el hanout, a North African spice mix that contains black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, mace, paprika and turmeric, among other spices.

The spices are distributed over the meat and onions, and the vegetables are added and seasoned. The tagine is then dressed with colour and flavour by adding bell peppers, preserved lemon, olives, and an herb bouquet of parsley and cilantro. A jalapeño or chilli pepper is optional.

Cooking and serving

The tagine is a Moroccan dish, although it is common throughout North Africa. It is a combination of savoury and sweet ingredients that come together to make a complex dish with a rich, spicy sauce. The word "tagine" refers to both the cooking pot and the dish itself. The cooking pot is a shallow clay vessel with a cone-shaped lid, but you can also use a Dutch oven or another lidded pot.

Ingredients

Tagine recipes usually include aromatics, meat, vegetables, spices, oil, and water. For the aromatics, you will need onions and garlic. For the meat, you can use lamb, beef, chicken, or fish. For the vegetables, you can use a variety of options such as carrots, celery, or bell peppers. You will also need olive oil and/or vegetable oil, and water or stock.

For the spices, you can mix salt, pepper, ginger, paprika, cumin, turmeric, saffron, and cayenne pepper. You can also add cinnamon and nutmeg. For sweetness, you can use dried fruit such as apricots, raisins, prunes, or dates. Fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, and scallions can also be added.

Cooking Method

First, season your tagine pot if it is made of clay or ceramic. Then, create a base layer of sliced onions to prevent the meat from sticking to the bottom. Add garlic, either chopped or pressed. You can also add celery or carrots to create a bed for fragile ingredients like fish.

Next, arrange your meat, poultry, or fish in the centre of the tagine, bone-side-down if using meat on the bone. If browning the meat first, do so in a separate skillet as the tagine should not be used over high heat.

Mix your spices in a small bowl and distribute some of the mixture over the meat and onions. Then, arrange your vegetables and season them with the rest of the spice mixture. Add strips of bell pepper, preserved lemon, and olives for extra colour and flavour.

Finally, carefully add water or stock to the side of the tagine, being careful not to wash away the spices. Do not add hot liquid to a cold tagine, as this can cause it to crack. Place the tagine over low to medium-low heat and be patient as it slowly reaches a simmer.

A tagine should be cooked slowly and can take up to half an hour to reach a simmer. Once it is simmering, it can be left mostly undisturbed to stew. Check the liquid level after about 2 hours and add more water if needed.

Serving

Tagines can be served directly in the cooking vessel, as they help to keep the food warm. Be sure to let it cool for about 10-15 minutes before serving. In the Moroccan tradition, people gather around and eat communally from the tagine, using pieces of Moroccan bread to scoop up the sauce, vegetables, and meat. You can also serve the tagine with couscous, either on the side or spread on a platter with the tagine poured on top. Polenta is another option.

Frequently asked questions