How To cook a traditional MORROCAN TAGINE

Do you have an idea about Morocco Cuisine ? flavors, ingredients ? do you have the chance to taste one of the most

popular recipe in Morocco ? have you think how you can prepare it ?

But what is the recipe ? Ah , it’s the Moroccan traditional « Tajine »

Do you want to learn how to cook a delicious Moroccan Tajine recipe by the traditional and healthy way ?

Now it’s your right place.

In this article you’ll discover Fish tajine with vegetables

1/ type of tajine
2/ the way how to combine ingredients
3/ making the Charmola
4/ In each section, you will take step by step cooking the Tajine.

Have fun with healthy food.

1. Arrange the Base Layer

Once seasoned, tagines are quite easy to use. The first step of making a tagine recipe is to place a layer of sliced onions across the base of the tagine, creating a bed for the remaining ingredients. The bed of onions will prevent the meat from sticking to the bottom and burning.

Other recipes might call for chopped onions to be scattered in the tagine, or perhaps celery or carrots will be crisscrossed to make a bed for fragile ingredients, as is the case in a ​​fish tagine. Small bamboo sticks can also be used.

1. Add the Garlic

Next comes the garlic. You can use a garlic press, but you can also just as easily chop the garlic or, if you like, leave the cloves whole. By adding the garlic with ingredients at the bottom, you are assured that it will fully cook and meld with the sauce.

1. Add Olive Oil

Ample oil is the foundation of a rich sauce in a tagine, so don't be afraid to use the full amount called for in a recipe. Most tagine recipes specify 1/4 to 1/3 cup oil. If you do reduce the oil, know that you will end up with less sauce or a watery sauce.

For this particular recipe, the oil can be added at any time while assembling the tagine. Many Moroccan cooks will use a mix of olive oil and vegetable oil, either because the olive oil is extra virgin and contributes lots of flavor in lesser quantity, or as a matter of frugality, as vegetable oil costs less.

1. Arrange the Meat in the Center

Meat, poultry, or fish is usually arranged in the center of the tagine. If you're using meat on the bone, place the pieces bone-side-down to reduce​ the risk of scorching the meat.

For this recipe, arrange the meat into a mound in the center so you can add lots of vegetables around the perimeter. Sometimes you'll encounter recipes which direct you to brown the meat first, which is really not necessary. If you do decide to brown the meat, however, it's best done in a separate skillet since a clay or ceramic tagine should not be used over high heat.

1. Mix the Moroccan Spices

Although not absolutely necessary, combining your Moroccan spices before using them does allow for more even distribution of seasoning. This recipe calls for mixing salt, pepper, ginger, paprika, cumin, turmeric, saffron, and a little cayenne pepper in a small bowl. You can also mix the spices in a large bowl and toss the vegetables and meat in the spices to coat everything evenly before adding to the tagine. Alternatively, you can sprinkle the spices one at a time directly into the assembled tagine. There's no right or wrong way—it is a matter of preference.

1. Season the Meat and Onions

Distribute some of the spice mixture over the meat and onions. You can use up to 2/3 of the mixture at this step, concentrating the seasoning on the onions so the spices will meld with the oil and liquids to make a rich, flavorful sauce. The reserved spices will be used to season the vegetables.

1. Arrange the Vegetables and Season

When using a tagine, the vegetables are usually added at the very beginning of cooking along with the meat. Some recipes call for layering the vegetables around the meat, poultry, or fish, but in a Berber style tagine they're arranged in a conical fashion. Although challenging, try to get them to stand upright, as it makes a lovely presentation. Once you've added the vegetables, season them with the rest of your spice mixture.

1. Garnish the Tagine

Now you can dress up the tagine with color and flavor by adding strips or slices of bell pepper, preserved lemon, olives, and an herb bouquet of parsley and cilantro. A jalapeño or chili pepper is optional.

1. Add Water to the Tagine

The last step before you place the tagine on the stove is to add water (sometimes stock or broth is used instead). Pour it carefully into the tagine near the side so that you don't wash away any of the spices. Be aware that you should not add a hot liquid to a cold tagine, and vice versa, as thermal shock can crack a clay or ceramic tagine.

If a recipe doesn't specify the amount of water to add, follow the general rule of thumb of 2 to 2 1/2 cups water for a large lamb or beef tagine with vegetables (half that amount of water for chicken due to shorter cooking time), and 1 to 1 1/4 cups water for a small lamb or beef tagine with vegetables (half that amount for chicken).

1. Cook the Tagine

To avoid cracking or breaking a clay or ceramic tagine, make sure it sits above the heat source and not directly on it (use a diffuser if you have an electric stove or flat cooktop). Place the tagine over low to medium-low heat and be very patient while the tagine slowly reaches a simmer.

Tagines can also be cooked outdoors over coals. In Morocco, you may find special tagine braziers, but the tagine may also be placed on the rack of a grill or over a small fire on the ground (use rocks to keep the tagine over the flames.) These methods are a bit trickier to maintain adequately low temperature and require more attention than stovetop cooking.

Once a tagine reaches a simmer (it can take up to a half hour if there is a lot of liquid), it can be left relatively undisturbed to slowly stew. Reduce the heat slightly if the tagine is simmering rapidly; ideally, you want a slow or medium simmer instead. A beef tagine could require about 3 hours of simmering; chicken might need only half that time while lamb can take an hour longer.