Ok ok, so we splurged a little to try our hand in tagine cooking. Yes, we invested in a good quality Le Creuset tagine! In case you wonder, a tagine is a special cooking pot that's made of heavy clay. It is commonly used in authentic Moroccan and Algerian cooking.


Le Creuset Tagine on our kitchen stove

Some European-made tagines have a cast iron base and a heavy clay cover and is perfect for slow cooking over the stove. We bought the Le Creuset (French) tagine after the salesperson did a fantastic job convincing us of the benefits of tagine cooking. She had us sold with all the delicious tagine recipes we could experiment with!

The cover of the tagine is conical in shape and there isn't any opening at the apex of the cover. It's completely sealed and made of heavy clay. Its design is meant to seal in the juices and retain the flavor and aroma of the meat that is cooked within the tagine.

Tagine cooking is meant to be a slow cooking process and is most suited for cooking relatively tougher meats like lamb and beef. However, it can also be used to cook chicken and fish. When cooking lamb in a tagine, it is best to use the shank.  You will not be disappointed by the results of cooking lamb shank in the tagine.

The meat of the lamb literally comes off the bone easily so you can just use a fork to pull the meat off.  And because the moisture is locked in the tagine, the meat is succulent and flavorful. The base of the tagine is made of heavy cast iron and during the cooking process the heat is evenly distributed.

The best part of tagine cooking is that you can leave it on a stove on a slow fire and go about doing your own thing. Once in a while, open the lid, give it a stir or check on the done-ness of the meat and when its done, enjoy! The best part is that you can serve the dish in the tagine itself. It is such an authentic piece of crockery that it would certainly be a conversational piece during dinner time.

TAGINE RECIPES

So, you've got yourself a tagine and now you need the recipes? Ok, you've come to the right place. Here are some tagine recipes to get you started 

Boneless Pork Recipe - Pork Bafat Cooked in Tagine

Mediterranean Lamb with Dates and Olives Tagine Recipe (Coming Soon)