Authentic Moroccan Tagine Food

MOROCCAN TAGINE RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in your Moroccan tagine pot. Add diced onions to the pot and sauté for about five minutes till it turns translucent.
• Next, add grated ginger and minced garlic to the pot and sauté for another two minutes. Once the mixture starts giving aromatic flavor, add diced chicken breast and stir the mixture for about one minute to let the extra water from chicken evaporate.
• Next, it is time to add your spice mix to the pot. Sprinkle coriander, cinnamon, cumin, and turmeric powder and stir to combine. sauté the mixture until the chicken cubes are no longer pink.
• Once all the ingredients are perfectly combined into the chicken, it is time to add almonds, raisins, honey, harissa, chickpeas and 1 cup water to the pot. Stir well to combine all the ingredients. Reduce the heat and stir for a minute before covering the pot to simmer it for 10 minutes.
• When it forms a partially thick gravy or stew, it is time to add the butternut squash to the mixture. Stir the mixture properly to combine the ingredients, and return to simmer.
• Cover the pot with a lid and let it simmer for another 25 minutes, or until the butternut squash turns fork-tender.
• Remove it from heat and garnish with dried apricots and slivered almonds. You can also use freshly chopped coriander leaves for garnish.
• The dish is best served with couscous. To prepare couscous, take a saucepan, add two cups of water and bring to a boil.
• Once the water is boiled, add bouillon cubes and butter and stir until the ingredients are dissolved. Make sure that the water is still boiling.
• Next, to the mixture, add the couscous and stir properly. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan with a lid. Let it sit there for 10-15 minutes. Your couscous is ready. Fluff it with a fork and serve with your chicken tagine.

MOROCCAN LAMB TAGINE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a very large (12-to-13-inch) pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Pat the lamb shanks dry with paper towels. In batches, add the lamb shanks to the pot and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes on each side, until they are nicely browned. Transfer to a plate and brown the remaining shanks, adding a little more oil, if necessary. Transfer all the shanks to the plate and set aside.
• Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding more oil, if necessary. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for just 30 seconds. Add the chili powder, turmeric, cumin, cardamom and cinnamon and cook for one minute. Stir in the tomatoes and their liquid, the chicken stock, brown sugar, lime, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add the potatoes, butternut squash and sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Place the lamb shanks in the pot, spooning some of the sauce and vegetables over the shanks. (They will not be completely submerged.) Cover the pot and bake for 3 hours, until the lamb shanks are very tender. Serve hot with couscous.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAJINE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the garlic, cumin, ginger, paprika, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup grated onion, and the oil.
• Rinse the preserved lemons, and remove the pulp. RESERVE the lemon peel for later use.
• Add the lemon pulp to the mixing bowl. Add the chicken. Mix everything together and place in a large plastic bag to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. (Twenty-four hours really gives the chicken the best flavor.)
• In a large Dutch oven or casserole, place the chicken and marinade; add the stems of the parsley and cilantro, the rest of the grated onion, the powdered saffron and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, turn down to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
• Remove the cover, stir the chicken and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
• Remove the chicken to a serving dish and cover with foil to keep warm. Keep sauce on stove and begin to reduce.
• Slice the preserved lemon peel into thin slices and add to the sauce along with the olives, parsley and cilantro. Reduce until the sauce is just a little thick. This shouldn't take more than 5 minutes at most.
• Uncover the chicken and remove the skin from the chicken. (It doesn't look pretty and who needs the extra fat.) Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

MOROCCAN TAGINE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Fry the onion in the oil until soft. Add the lamb meat to the pan, and fry until just browned on the outside. Season with cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Pour just enough water into the pot to cover the meat. Cover, and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until meat is tender and the mixture is stew-like. Displace lid a little after an hour if there appears to be too much liquid.
• Add the pears, golden raisins and almonds to the stew, and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the pears are soft. Serve with rice.

MOROCCAN LAMB TAGINE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2.
• Place the cayenne, black pepper, paprika, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon into a small bowl and mix to combine. Place the lamb in a large bowl and toss together with half of the spice mix. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp of argan oil in a large casserole dish. Add the grated onion and the remaining spice mix and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes so that the onions are soft but not coloured. Add the crushed garlic for the final 3 minutes.
• In a separate frying pan, heat the remaining oil and brown the cubes of lamb on all sides then add the browned meat to the casserole dish. De-glaze the frying pan with ¼ pint of tomato juice and add these juices to the pan.
• Add the remaining tomato juice, chopped tomatoes, apricots, dates, raisins or sultanas, flaked almonds, saffron, lamb stock and honey to the casserole dish. Bring to the boil, cover with a fitted lid, place in the oven and cook for 2-2½ hours or until the meat is meltingly tender.
• Place the lamb in a tagine or large serving dish and sprinkle over the chopped herbs. Serve.