500 Days of Tajine

طاجين | ṭājin: A dish from North Africa that is named after the type of shallow, earthenware pot with conical lid in which it is cooked.

[500daysoftajine]

Day 3: Beef & Sweet Potato

I’ve been slacking but this one was quite delicious. I love the starchy sweetness that comes from a sweet potato paired with the spiced beef. Absolutely delicious.

What I find most challenging about cooking beef in a tajine is how long it takes to get to the “melt in your mouth” point. The trick is really in getting a sense of your baby (tajine) to know how it cooks. The other trick is in keeping enough liquid in the tajine to keep the beef cooking and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the clay! 

In this I used:

1 lb beef stew (thanks, Honest Chops!)

2 baby sweet potatoes, cut in circles 

vegetable stock 

1 large tomato, diced

a bunch of coriander 

spices include: cinnamon, harissa and berber mixes, cloves, sesame seeds, salt and pepper 

and of course, LOTS of olive oil! 

[500daysoftajine]

Day 2: Squash -n Strings

This tajine was a last minute way to use my farm share this week. I had way too many beans and a whole lot of squash. This was completely based on tossing things together and seeing if it worked rather than following a recipe. It affirms my belief that anything slow cooked in a clay pot cannot taste bad. You can season this one with whatever you'd like, I chose to keep the Moroccan theme and used a blend from Whole Foods called "Harissa". 

Ingredients:

Squash, washed and cubed

String beans, washed and ends cut 

Olive oil 

Almonds, chopped 

For the tajine:

Place oil, chopped garlic and whole cumin seeds in tajine until well heated.

Line the cubed squash on the edges of the tajine bottom, toss in some salt and cover with lid. Allow to caramelize and cook thoroughly on one side.

Flip squash pieces and fill center with string beans. I seasoned with some harissa spices, but I think you could season this with anything. 

Allow to cook on low heat with lid covered for about 20-30 minutes. 

Serve and enjoy :) بالصحة

[500daysoftajine]

Day 1: Meat, Prunes & Nuts

I broke in the tajine today with a classic Moroccan tajine. It was hard to resist my Pakistani roots and put in all the spices of "the 'stan", but I'm glad I held back (well, mostly...).

My brand new tajine doesn't have the typical conical lid quite yet. Instead, I'm using a lid more commonly found in Chefchouen; which happens to be my favorite city so I guess this dish is in tribute to the city!

I cook meat so infrequently because I'm always afraid of not cooking it right (plus, I love my veggies!). Trust me when I say this, making this couldn't have been easier. Instead of the typical lamb meat used, I used goat meat and also added in some spare vegetables towards the end. This was finger-licking DELICIOUS. The prune sauce that was added on top made this recipe over the top good. Only regret is I wish I had made more. 

Check out the 10 step super simple recipe below. Definitely a great start to 500 days of tajine. Stay tuned for more and bessaha (بالصحة)!

Ingredients:

1 lb of meat (cleaned, cut into smaller pieces for quicker cooking) 

1.5 medium onion (half sliced, half chopped finely) 

2 cloves garlic

3 whole green peppers (optional)

1/2 c prunes

3/4 c olive oil + 2 tbsp for topping

2.5 c water

2 tsp honey 

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 stick of cinnamon 

1 tsp turmeric 

1 tsp ground red pepper 

1 tsp ground ginger paste

1 tsp ground garlic paste

3/4 tsp salt (more to taste) 

1/2 c toasted, peeled almonds 

1/4 c toasted sesame seeds (optional) 

1 c steamed brussels sprouts (optional)

1/2 c boiled potatoes (optional) 

For the tajine:

1. In a separate bowl, mix the meat, half the olive oil, grated onion, garlic paste, ginger paste, turmeric, cinnamon stick, red paper and salt together. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes. 

2. Pour the remainder of the olive oil and peeled garlic cloves (I put the whole clove in so I can remove it after the flavor is infused in the oil) in the tajine. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes.

3. Line the sliced onions along the bottom of the tajine until the bottom is covered. Allow them to cook with oil and garlic and become translucent in color (~5 minutes). 

4. Pour the meat and spice mixture on top of the onions along with approximately 1 cup water. The amount of water used will depend on the size of your tajine. You should put enough to fill to the brim without overflowing while it cooks. Top off with the lid for the tajine and allow to cook on medium/low heat for approximately 1 hour (until meat is tenderized). 

5. Once the water is boiling, remove half the water  from the tajine and place in separate pot to use for the prune sauce. Now's a good time to go make the prune sauce!

6. After the first round of water is dry, the meat should be tender and nearly cooked. Pour remaining cup of water in the tajine and allow to continue cooking with lid covered. 

7. Once the water is boiling again and about half evaporated, line the edges of tajine with brussels sprouts and create spaces throughout the dish for the diced potatoes. Both these things should already be mostly cooked so we just want the flavors to infuse together. Top off with sliced whole green pepper and another 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cover lid of tajine again and allow to cook for another 10 minutes on low heat. 

8. Remove lid, and top with prune sauce, almonds and sesame seeds. 

For the sauce:

1. Pour half the water from the tajine in a pot with prunes, honey and cinnamon over medium heat and allow to reduce. 

2. When the water is reduced down, put in another half cup of water into the pot and leave simmering over low heat until tajine is ready.