Tagine

By á-170456

Ingredients

• Meat see * Note 1
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 medium onion quartered
• Olive oil as needed
• 1 cup water
• Salt to taste
• Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
• Raisins
• Green olives pitted
• Green peppers cut into wedges
• Vegetables see * Note 2
• Zucchini (optional)

Details

Servings 1

Preparation

Step 1

* Note 1: Your choice (or mix) of chicken, lamb, or beef, cut into chunks.

* Note: Variety of cut vegetables that take a long time to cook (e.g. carrots, potatoes, beans, and/or turnips).

Properly done, a tagine requires its specialized pot, a deep clay dish with a cone-like chimney. I have managed it in a large covered earthenware pot, but it requires letting the vapors escape a little -- the stewing is not as intense as typical American Slow cooker stews.

Heat a thin layer of olive oil in the pot or dish. Brown the meat and chopped onion. Add a cup of water, salt and pepper to taste, and vegetables. Cook on very low heat 20 to 25 minutes. Add raisins, olives, peppers, onion quarters, and zucchini and cook until vegetables are tender.

This recipe yields ?? servings.

The Madam, my landlady, was always tipped in advance that a raid was scheduled that night. As a foreigner, I was exempt from the Muslim rule, so she would carry her supply of beer and other alcoholic beverages up to my apartment and I would stash them in my closet for her until the raid had come and gone. In exchange, she would bring me huge platters of food. Among them was Tagine, a delicious stew.

I asked her how it was made, and she showed me. I have had tagines since at friends' homes in Morocco and in American restaurants, but never like the tagines she made me. Perhaps it was the sweet taste of having outwitted the morality police. Here is how I remember it.