How to Make a Tasty Tajine
January 14, 2010 – Marrakesh, Morocco
Tajine, the national dish of Morocco, is one tasty meal. I should know, I’ve been eating one every day for the last 2 weeks.
There’s all varieties of tajine: beef with prunes, chicken with lemon, root vegetables. What they all have in common is an earthenware conical cooking pot that goes (not in the oven as I previously thought) but over an open flame.
Luckily, I was able to take a tajine cooking course while in Morocco and I have to humbly admit that the one I made in class was the tastiest meal ever. Ever.
Tajine for 1: Chicken with Olives and Lemon
Ingredients:
• 2-3 Chicken pieces with the skin removed
• ¼ Sliced red onion
• 1 Tablespoon sunflower oil
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• ½ Teaspoon of finely ground black pepper
• ½ Teaspoon of salt • ½ Teaspoon of ground ginger
• ½ Teaspoon of cumin • ½ Teaspoon of paprika
• ½ Teaspoon of fresh minced garlic
• ½ Teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
• Small pinch of saffron
• Sliced Carrots
• Sliced Potatoes (sweet potatoes are an option)
• Sliced Zucchini • Sliced Tomatoes
• Mixed Green and Black Olives
• Sliced Lemon
To Make
• Add chicken pieces, onion slices, salt, pepper, and boils into the tangine pot and mix well
• Place the covered tangine pot over a medium flame and brown the chicken for about 5 minutes
• Add 2 Tablespoons of water, so the mixture doesn’t burn
• Let brown for about 5 more minutes
• Add sliced vegetables in order of longest to cook, making a pyramid shape: so carrots, potatoes, zucchini, then crown with tomatoes
• Add about 10-12 Olives
• Add Parsley
• Add ½ glass of water
• Leave on medium flame for about 45 minutes
• Add 3-4 lemon slices and a pinch more salt and pepper during the last 15 minutes
Keep the pot covered the entire time, adding water every 5-10 minutes.
The goal is to get a few crispy bits (only a few!) on the bottom of the pot
The tajine is usually served with bread. Sliced oranges and bananas sprinkled with cinnamon are served for dessert. It’s (obviously) not traditional to serve your tajine with a beer, but that’s how I like mine.
Really fabulous — Try it!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 and is filed under Food & Drink.