Tagine: Spicy stews from Morocco

By Ghillie Basan

Few meals are more satisfying than a hearty tagine--the rich, fragrant Moroccan stew that is served from its own elegant cooking vessel, also called a tagine. Meat, poultry, fish, or vegetables are simmered gently in the steam of the pot's conical lid, and the food, deliciously flavored with spices and fruit, remains tender and moist. In Ghillie Basan's collection of aromatic tagines you will find some of the best-loved classics of the Moroccan kitchen, such as Lamb Tagine with Prunes, Apricots, and Almonds, and the tangy Chicken Tagine with Green Olives and Lemon. Also included are less traditional but equally delectable recipes for beef and meatball tagines. If you enjoy a succulent fish dish, you can try Monkfish Tagine with Potatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, and Olives, or Red Mullet with Lemon and Mint. For vegetarians there is a varied choice, from a sweet, syrupy tagine of Yams, Carrots, and Prunes to a summery dish of Artichoke Hearts with Peas and Saffron. Every recipe includes suggestions for accompaniments and side dishes. The perfect introduction to the distinctive tastes of Morocco.Ghillie Basan has worked in different parts of the world as a cookery writer, restaurant critic and journalist. She is Cordon Bleu trained and has a degree in Social Anthropology. She has written a number of highly acclaimed books on classic cuisines of the Middle East and South-east Asia, and her food and travel articles have appeared in the Sunday Herald, Scotland on Sunday and BBC Good Food Magazine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ryland Peters & Small
• Release date: Feb 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781849753197

Ghillie Basan

Ghillie Basan has written over 40 books on different culinary cultures and has been nominated for the Glenfiddich Award, the Guild of Food Writers Award and the Cordon Bleu World Food Media Award. Her food and travel articles have appeared in a huge variety of newspapers and magazines, including The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, BBC Good Food magazine and Eating magazine. As a broadcaster she has presented and contributed to many BBC radio programmes. As well as running cookery workshops she also works as a flavour and food pairing consultant for bar tenders and chefs.

Book preview

TAGINE

Spicy stews from Morocco

TAGINE

Spicy stews from Morocco

Ghillie Başan

photography by Martin Brigdale

Dedication

For Monica. To shopping in Marrakesh!

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the team at Ryland Peters & Small: Alison Starling, for inviting me to write this book, and Liz Sephton and Ann Baggaley for whipping it into shape. And I am thrilled that the ever-so-skilled Martin Brigdale took the photographs and, as always, made each one look stunningly appetizing.

First published in Great Britain in 2007

by Ryland Peters & Small, Inc

519 Broadway, 5th Floor

New York, NY 10012

www.rylandpeters.com

20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11

Text © Ghillie Ba an 2007

Design and photographs © Ryland Peters & Small 2007

Printed in China

For digital editions visit rylandpeters.com/apps.php

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Basan, Ghillie.

  Tagine : spicy stews from Morocco / Ghillie Basan; photography by Martin

Brigdale.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-84597-479-4

1. Cookery, Moroccan. 2. Stews. I. Title.

TX725.M8B39 2007

641.5964--dc22

2007012710

eISBN: 978 1 84975 319 7

ISBN-10: 1 84597 479 4

ISBN-13: 978 1 84597 479 4

Designer Liz Sephton

Editor Ann Baggaley

Production Gemma Moules

Publishing Director Alison Starling

Food Stylists Bridget Sargeson, Lucy McKelvie

Assistant Food Stylist Stella Sargeson

Stylist Helen Trent

Assistant Stylist Isolde Summerscale

Assistant Photographer Nat Davies

Indexer Hilary Bird

Note

All spoon measurements are level unless otherwise stated.

contents

the secret of tagines

traditional lamb tagines

beef, kefta, and sausage tagines

chicken and duck tagines

fish and shellfish tagines

vegetable tagines

accompaniments

index

The Secret of Tagines

The classic dish from the region of North Africa known as the Maghreb—Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria—a tagine is a glorified stew worthy of poetry. Aromatic and syrupy, zesty and spicy, or sweet and fragrant are just some of the words that come to mind. A dish of tender meat or succulent vegetables, simmered to perfection in buttery sauces with fruit, herbs, honey, and chiles, an authentic tagine is in a class of its own and has become a fundamental feature of Moroccan cuisine.

The name tagine (sometimes spelled tajine) is also given to the vessel in which the food is cooked: a shallow, round, earthenware pot with a unique conical lid designed to lock in moisture and flavors, cooking the food gently in a small amount of liquid. The finished dish can either be served piping hot straight from its cooking vessel, or tipped into one of the decorative versions of the pot, glazed