Use a Tagine

Regardless of its reputation on social media, getting ready a whole meal in a single pot, aka, one-pot cooking, isn’t new. World one-pot cooking traditions—like cassoulet in France, congee from China and Southeast Asia, and Ethiopia’s doro wat—have been handed down by way of generations, every providing a novel expression of consolation meals throughout cultures.

For chef Ayesha Nurdjaja of the acclaimed Shuka and Shukette (the latter not too long ago touchdown on the New York Occasions 100 Finest Eating places listing), the magic of tagines started throughout her travels by way of Morocco. As she returns this summer season to the Meals & Wine Basic in Aspen, she’s able to share extra cooking secrets and techniques — this time with a show-stopping lamb tagine and an array of vibrant sides. Even should you’re not entrance row in Aspen, you possibly can nonetheless take these tagine suggestions straight to your kitchen.

What’s a tagine?

A tagine is a conventional earthenware cooking vessel with a shallow ceramic or clay base and a conical lid that includes a prime vent that funnels steam. Though its precise origin is unknown, the vessel might be traced again to the indigenous, nomadic Berber folks of North Africa, who used it to prepare dinner over an open hearth.

Tagine additionally refers to a North African stew named after the vessel it’s cooked in. Listed here are a number of commerce secrets and techniques on the way to deal with cooking with tagines.

season a tagine

In case you’re utilizing a tagine for the primary time, it’s essential to season it earlier than cooking. This course of, additionally referred to as curing, helps strengthen the clay, making it extra immune to cracking. You solely want to do that as soon as earlier than the primary use.

To season, soak the bottom and lid in heat water for one to 4 hours, then allow them to air dry fully. As soon as dry, rub the inside and exterior flippantly with olive oil. Place the tagine in a chilly oven, then set the temperature to 300°F and bake for about two hours. Flip off the oven and let the tagine cool inside earlier than eradicating it.

prepare dinner with a tagine

To prepare dinner with a tagine on the stovetop, at all times use a cast-iron or stainless-steel warmth diffuser. Tagines, particularly conventional ones manufactured from unglazed clay, are liable to cracking if not correctly protected. A warmth diffuser acts as a barrier between the warmth supply and the bottom, defending it and distributing the warmth evenly round it. It is important to start out with low warmth and step by step improve to medium-low if needed, as sudden temperature adjustments can even trigger the tagine to crack. As soon as your components are layered inside, cowl the dish with the conical lid and let it prepare dinner gently, permitting steam to flow into and flavors to meld.

For oven use, at all times begin the tagine in a chilly oven (with out preheating), which permits the vessel to regulate to the gradual improve in temperature.

Able to tagine like a professional? Nurdjaja shares her go-to suggestions under for inexperienced persons and past.

Select the best dimension

In the case of tagines, greater shouldn’t be at all times higher. In case you’re out there for a tagine, Nurdjaja recommends one that may serve two to 3 folks. “It’s higher to purchase a smaller one since you’ll get extra use out of it,” she says. For bigger dishes that serve greater than six, like cooking an entire rooster, bust out the equally versatile Dutch oven and use your tagine as a service vessel for sides like couscous or sauted peas. “It [tagines] makes it look fancier than what it’s,” says Nurdjaja.

Choose the best lower of meat

Tagines are versatile sufficient for steaming or sautéing, however they really shine in relation to braising. This slow-cooking methodology—browning meat or greens in fats to construct taste, then simmering them in liquid beneath a tightly fitted lid—creates that deep, craveable richness present in dishes like birria, rogan josh, and the aforementioned lamb tagine. However success begins with the best lower.

“Search for items which have slightly little bit of gristle or numerous connective tissue that wants time to interrupt down,” says Nurdjaja. For lamb tagine, that’s one thing like bone-in lamb shoulder. Right here’s the place the tagine’s distinctive design is available in: The lids lure and recirculate moisture till the meals is meltingly tender and their materials retains and evenly distributes warmth making them best for longer prepare dinner occasions. 

Lean into candy flavors

Cooking tagines is all about constructing layers of complementary and contrasting flavors. “What I like is the event of flavors, it is a type of set-it-and-forget-it scenario.”

To stability the richness from braised meats, components with pure sugars like dried apricots or prunes are sometimes added to a tagine. However, Nurdjaja takes it one step additional with dried cherries. “I am going to simply throw these dried cherries once more on the highest after which simply steam by way of and get plump whereas those in the beginning lend themselves to the constructing of the flavors of the dish.” 

In spite of everything, with a dish that’s as a lot concerning the vessel as the flavour, the true magic occurs once you make it your personal.