Tagine - more from my lucky dip

"The word has become so glamorous and prestigious in our western world, and so misused in restaurants in Morocco, that it has come to mean any kind of stew or braise." Claudia Roden

The page in my Australian Women's Weekly Tomato Cookbook which I opened featured two vaguely North African dishes - Chilli and Chutney Quail with Couscous Seasonings and Tagine of Beef with Tomatoes. Now, as Claudia Roden says, I think that neither of these dishes are totally authentic but the beef tagine made me think of having another go at a Rosemary invented kind of tagine. For we have the grandsons, etc. for dinner tonight. It's still school holidays and we are still babysitting.

Now a tagine is supposed to be cooked in a tagine - a Moroccan clay pot. And I do happen to have a tagine - bought in Aldi. I really, really like it but it's not really going to be useful for tonight's meal. I'm cooking for eight people - you can almost count the boys as adults as far as food is concerned these days, and the tagine base is just too small. In fact even Claudia Roden admits that most tangines are too small for a crowd. They are shallow you see. I have tried it but just ended up with the sauce spilling all over my cook top.

Moreover my base is made of cast iron, which looks good with the top, but it's not clay. Really they are supposed to be made of clay. And you are supposed to cook it over charcoal.

"Cooking in a clay tagline, very gently over a brazier of constantly replenished embers, diffuses the heat all round the pot and produces at the end a reduced sauce sizzling in its fat." Claudia Roden

Well that is the kind of thing I'm aiming for but I bet I'm not successful. These days I seem to start out with good intentions and end up with wishy washy mish mash.

In his classic tome on Moroccan food Robert Carrier admits that he tried to set up a bench top kind of barbecue in his kitchen in his Moroccan home, but his Moroccan cook insisted on squatting on the floor with one of those braziers shown above. Times change however, because in her book Arabesque, Claudia Roden says that the Moroccans have taken to cooking their tagines in pressure cookers.

Well I have never used a pressure cooker, never fancied one, but I guess it's another way of minimising liquid. And this is one of the reasons for the shape of the tagine lid.

"The lid traps steam, returning the condensed liquid to the pot, so little water is needed for cooking. In countries where water is scarce, it's a practical method of cooking." Shane Delia

And also the very top has a little indentation in which you can put some water which helps the steam inside condense back down the sides. I knew that they always had this indentation - mine does too - but I have to say I had never put two and two together. And I should have, as I have had several Le Creuset casseroles with indented lids in which to put water.

Of course, the Moroccans being an artistic kind of people it seems to me, also make decorated clay pots as well as the plain ones. And I am pleased to say that mine (doubtless made in China) looks reasonably authentic.

They have been around for a very long time. First mentioned, I believe in the Thousand and One Nights. They are traditionally Berber in origin.

So there you have the pot - I will try to work out how to use the top to serve the dish - it might perch on a big enough bowl, but I suspect not. I shall just have to cook it in my stainless steel sauté pan that I use for such things. I shall also serve it with rice because I don't think everyone likes couscous. Though I might do some couscous too - and some garlic bread. Well why not mix Asia, France, North Africa all together. I don't know whether this is good - showing innovation and a desire to include all cultures in what you do, or whether it's a gross rejection of traditions that should be honoured.

As to the actual dish. Well mine will be chicken. It will also be more tagine inspired than an actual tagine. Some of the main components of a tagine seem to be onions, preserved lemons, olives, fruit and nuts. Well I don't think many of my eaters like olives, but I do have some preserved lemons and they do make a difference. As to fruit and nuts - I suppose I could try pine nuts, but I think I'll count my tomatoes as fruit (I have lots of them). Onions and garlic are always a given. Maybe some honey and lemon and mint - I have lots of mint, and I can't use coriander because one of my guests is allergic. I could add parsley though. I'm also toying with adding a bit of yoghurt but I have never seen yoghurt mentioned in any of the recipes. Cumin, cinnamon, saffron and paprika also seem to be popular. Will think about that. I think I still have some saffron though I think it will be wasted on this particular dish. Maybe just a touch of paprika and cumin.

Genuine tagines vary of course wherever you happen to be in Morocco.

"Tagines are distinguished by their cooking fats and spicing, although the distinctions have become blurred these days." Claudia Roden

I also think there are other variations - marinading the meat first or not, frying the onions and meat first or not, how much liquid, what kind of fat ... Me I'm just going to make it up as I go along with a vaguely Moroccan touch. I think the one in the Women's Weekly was rather more authentic than mine will be.

Robert Carrier loved them and I will make some of his some time. This Is a photo of one from his book, I think in his Moroccan garden. Looks stunning. And he had other uses for the pots too.

"I like to use the lower part to present dessert fruits or as an attractively rustic container for colourful raw vegetables as a table centrepiece. It is used extensively in Moroccan homes to keep bread fresh; and I use it to keep ice cool for outdoor entertaining. Something about the high conical lid keeps the ice 'iced' for hours." Robert Carrier

It is very hot today though, so I don't think I shall be allowed to cook for a very long time. So I'm going to put it in a marinade now!