Tagine Cooking

One of the things that makes our world so fascinating, are all the unique and fabulous ways we cook.  There are so many different kitchen utensils, pots, and cooking philosophies.  We hope to share some unique and fun ways to cook with you!  With that...meet the Tagine.  You may have see the Real Housewives of New York cooking with one of these in their last season, or have seen them in various ethnic restaurants, or grazing the shelves of your favorite cooking shop.  The Tagine is a Moroccan earthenware cooking dish.  Their tall conical lids make them ideal for their traditional use with slow cooking methods and stews. 

Tagines come in all shapes and sizes from the very petite to the extra large.  Our petite Tagines are my favorite, made in Tunisia.  The Zagora Tagine, $18 each (shown above and open below).  We also have a Large Marrak, available for $88 (not shown).

Try this recipe from Staub en France for a Fruit Tagine.  Try cutting it into small parts and cooking them in the mini tagines as a special individual serving dessert treat for your guests.

Fruit Tagine from Staub
Ingredients:

4 apples
3 pears
1 orange
1 tablespoon of honey
1 vanilla pod
120 g currants (roughly about 1/4 pound or 5 oz)
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

*Pre-heat your oven to 350.
*Place the cubed apples and the pears in the tajine.
*Pour the juice of the orange, the spoon of honey and the cinnamon into the saucepan. Cut the vanilla pod in two length ways and scrape the grains out. Heat the saucepan just enough to melt the honey. Then pour the juice over the fruit.
*Put in the vanilla pod and the currants.
*Cover the tajine and cook in the oven for 30 minutes
*Serve the fruit hot with a scoop of ice-cream with flaked almonds that you have browned in the frying pan beforehand. Or serve the fruit as it is, warm or cold decorated with fresh mint leaves.

Bon Appetit.