COOKS! Anyone use a tagine? Moroccan ceramic cooker

[Freedom]

Someone on FB recently got a tagine, and is really enjoying it (she loves to cook, I do too).

The cover captures condensation and returns it, keeping the meat moist. I am going to get one, I think. Will have to research recipes, like curry etc. Wondered if anyone uses one.

[kittycats_delight]

The restaurant I used to hostess at used to serve tagine. The chef was moroccan born but lived and trained in Italy. He did an amazing lamb tagine & another with beef that were just so good. The chef was a friend of my hubby's. He gave us several of his recipes. The beef tagine & lamb tagine that he made were 2 of them along with a honey sauce he used on ribs, a rosé sauce for pasta, gorgonzola sauce for gnocchi was another. All delicious. I will have to dig them out as I haven't made either tagine dish is ages but can send you the recipes if you want.

[Freedom]

Yummy oh yes please do send those along!

In researching, seems the same term is used for a meal and for the cooking pot, lol. It was the pot I was considering buying. Found them on ebay, but so many choices! Size, material (silicone, ceramic, cast iron base with ceramic dome) very interesting.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mastrad-Taji...54414117601903

[Karen]

Yummy oh yes please do send those along!

In researching, seems the same term is used for a meal and for the cooking pot, lol. It was the pot I was considering buying. Found them on ebay, but so many choices! Size, material (silicone, ceramic, cast iron base with ceramic dome) very interesting.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mastrad-Taji...54414117601903

You should also check Craiglist, as it's the kind of thing people sometimes get as a gift but never end up using!

[Freedom]

Good idea Karen, thanks. Not sure I AM getting one. Just looking into it for now. Expensive and want to be sure I am going to USE it for that price.

[pomtzu]

Isn't this basically like just cooking a meal in a slow cooker/crock pot with a ceramic liner?

[kittycats_delight]

The ones we had at the restaurant were from Morocco. The chef got them from there and they were terra cotta. Ours were just like this.

This is what Moroccan tagine is.

Tajines in Moroccan cuisine are slow-cooked stews braised at low temperatures, resulting in tender meat with aromatic vegetables and sauce. They are traditionally cooked in the tajine pot, the conical cover which has a knob-like handle at its top to facilitate removal. While simmering, the cover can be lifted off without the aid of a mitten, enabling the cook to inspect the main ingredients, add vegetables, mix the contents, or add additional braising liquid.
Most tajines involve slow simmering of less-expensive meats.


Have emailed you the recipes.

[Freedom]

Got the recipes, thanks, they sound SOOoo yummy!

[Lilith Cherry]

Please may I have the recipes too? I have the chinese terra cotta version and it really makes delicious soups and stews from really tough cuts of meat. I just make them up as I go along lol~

[Freedom]

Ellie, since I don't use either one, I couldn't respond. I asked Linda the woman on FB who just bought a tajine. Here is her reply:

no..its not the same as a slow cooker at all Sandie..a slow cooker is just that..slow..I did the Morroccan recipe in mine in well under 40 mins..brill!..so tender..the slow cooker lids are flat..the tagine is conical..all the steam runs back down keeping the flavour locked in..so..you now have the answer..lol

[pomtzu]

Ellie, since I don't use either one, I couldn't respond. I asked Linda the woman on FB who just bought a tajine. Here is her reply:

no..its not the same as a slow cooker at all Sandie..a slow cooker is just that..slow..I did the Morroccan recipe in mine in well under 40 mins..brill!..so tender..the slow cooker lids are flat..the tagine is conical..all the steam runs back down keeping the flavour locked in..so..you now have the answer..lol

Thanks for the explanation. Since slow works for me, I guess I'll just stick with my crockpot. The steam on the lid runs/drips back down into the pot, so anything I cook is always moist and tender. Just takes longer to get that way!

[cassiesmom]

I saw this one in the Food Network magazine. I don't know that much about Moroccan food other than couscous.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60087707/#


Edited to add (from IKEA Web site)
Key features
- Thick walls evenly distribute the heat so that the food is heated up from several directions.
- Thick base prevents food from easily burning and sticking to the pan.
- Made from thick anodized aluminum with Teflon® Professional non-stick coating; allows ingredients for the tagine to boil for a long time without getting burnt and stuck to the pan.
- Thanks to the lid, steam changes into liquid which drips down on the food during cooking; tastes and consistency develop and the food takes care of itself.
- Rounded interior; makes stirring and beating easy.



I've got my grandmother's crock pot, circa 1975- the first style that came out with the removable pot. It works great! It's a lovely, attractive 1970s burnt orange color, eek. But it works really really well. My sister-in-law has a large one that's an oval shape and she can put a whole chicken in it (don't even have to cut it up first) or even a small roast.

[Lilith Cherry]

My Chinese one has a domed ceramic lid but not a tall as the tagine. It is still fast though and the flavours are great. Thanks for the recipes.

This is a picture of the shop where I bought it in Foshan, China

[Freedom]

Interesting! Thanks for posting that.

The tajine, every says to be sure to get a clay one. Not sure what that black one is made of which you posted.

[cassiesmom]

Part of my new year's resolution was to eat fewer salty, high fat foods and more vegetables, fish and fruits- basically more straight-forward healthful foods. I bet a tagine would cook vegies and steam fish very nicely. I wonder what kinds of seasonings are typical of Moroccan foods.