Vege Tagine

Can you see that cinnamon stick? And the cummin seeds? And the gorgeous juicy dates in amongst all that delicious goodness? Oh yeah, this is a lovely dish.

My sister, Sal and her boyfriend, Liam came over for dinner recently. It was hard to know what to prepare as Sal is vegetarian, and a fussy vegetarian at that and Liam is a big time meat eater. Like any real Aussie male. I've really enjoyed cooking lately and am trying lots of different ingredients and techniques. We never had stews when I was a kid so its a new thing for me. I made a beef stew for the boys and this yummy vegetable tagine (from taste.com.au) for Sal and I all served with mashed potatoes.

It's quite a sweet subtle flavour so its very different from dishes that usually come out of my kitchen but I enjoyed it.

2 tsp olive oil
1 brown onion, halved, cut into wedges
2 carrots, peeled, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp ground paprika
1 cinnamon stick
Large pinch of saffron threads
375ml (1 1/2 cups) vegetable stock
650g butternut pumpkin, deseeded, peeled, coarsely chopped
250g green beans, topped, cut into 6cm lengths
100g dried apricots
100g fresh dates, halved, pitted
1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the carrot, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds, paprika, cinnamon and saffron and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until aromatic.

Add stock and bring to the boil. Add the pumpkin, beans and apricots. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Add dates, chickpeas and lemon rind and stir to combine.

Sathya-rating ***

Persian Lamb

So, the tagine needs to be conquered. I spent hours looking for recipes and not a lot excited me.
There seem to be a few staple recipes and that’s about it.

Not enough of a challenge for me. I looked further than my usual online resources, in the bookshop, and was still disappointed. I wanted something exciting, different and challenging.

I didn’t really get there, but this is what I created for friends on the weekend. It was very easy to prepare.

Everyone went back for more, so that’s always a good indication.

700g lamb shoulder, diced

big glug of olive oil

2 brown onions, diced

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

4 cardamom pods, crushed

1 tsp salt

375ml chicken stock

110g pitted prunes, chopped
1 tsp caster sugar

juice of 2 limes

¼ tsp saffron threads, dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water

400g butternut pumpkin, but into large chunks

1 handful mint, roughly chopped

roasted almonds or pistachios, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.

Heat the oil in the tagine base (or heavy-based saucepan). Add the lamb in batches stir over medium to high heat until browned. Remove from the pan and put aside.

Add a little extra oil to the pan if need be, with the onion and fry for a couple of minutes to soften. Add the spices and salt and stir for 1 minute.

Add the stock, keeping in mind not to overfill the tagine.

Add the lamb, prunes, sugar, lime juice and saffron water, put the top on the tagine and place in preheated oven for 2 to 3 hours. (Or, if using a pot on the stove, bring up to a simmer, cover for 1 hour, stirring occasionally).

In the last hour, I added the pumpkin. I put the pumpkin in too early I think, it cooked down a little too much, so maybe half an hour would do.

When the lamb is tender, remove from heat and add the mint and toasted almonds and stir through.

I roasted a tin of chickpeas tossed in salt, pepper, lemon and paprika for 5 minutes and stirred them through some prepared couscous with extra lemon.

S

Sathya's First Tagine

Well, I finally joined the gang. The Tagine Gang, that is. Thank you, Laura, Liz and Cath.

I was lucky enough to receive this beautiful Emile Henry cooking item on the weekend.

I quickly messaged Liz to ask her what ingredients I need to make one that day! Her reply was simple. chicken maryland, tinned tomatoes and prunes and vegetables and I should be right.

I did as I was told and when I got home I looked up a recipe I had sent Liz months earlier when she got her tagine. Unfortunately I didn't have everything needed, but it was a good guide, as I had no clue. I came up with what you will find below, and it was yummy!

I have to say, I didn't find as relaxing as I expected a slow-cook recipe to be. I obviously had her too full and she overflowed, leading to burning, which lead to firealarm games. I must admit, I was hungover, so it took me a few times to cotton and and take some liquid out, which I then added later when everything had cooked down.

1 leek, chopped
1 capsicum, diced
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 pieces of chicken Maryland, each cut in half
1 tin of tomatoes
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp stock/bouillon powder
500ml water
1 cinnamon quill
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp nutmeg
4 garlic cloves, finely diced or crushed
Salt and pepper
200 grams prunes, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 150°C.

On a large plate put the flour and salt and pepper and turn the chicken in the flour mix to coat.

Place the base of the tagine on the stove on high heat. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil.

Fry the chicken on each side briefly to seal.

Remove the chicken, once sealed, and put to one side.

Add a little more oil in the base and fry the leeks until soft. Add the capsicum, potatoes and garlic and fry for a few minutes. Season.

Add the tinned tomatoes, stock, water and spices and bring to a simmer.

Put the lid on the base and transfer to warm oven.

Cook in oven for 2 - 3 hours stirring occasionally.

Serve with mashed potatoes or couscous, or on its own.

I love the art of slow cooking, and to be fair you could very easily do this in a cast iron pot or casserole dish but the tagine, does somehow make a difference. I am not an expert yet, so I can't say why.

S

Tagine of Chicken & Sweet Potato

I decided not to do this one in my tagine as, well, it didn't occur to me. It was the end of a long, cold, busy day and I really wanted a comfort meal. I doubled the batch so my parents could freeze it and eat it at a later date. I just can't get past this http://www.mistressofspice.com.au/ website. Every dish is so easy, so healthy and above all very delicious. I bought the Mistress of Spice cookbook today so prepare to see a lot more...

1kg chicken thighs

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2cm ginger, finely chopped or grated

3 teaspoons Mistress of Spice Ras el Hanout

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 teaspoons olive oil

600g sweet potato cut into 3cm chunks

3 tablespoons honey

Basmati rice

Coriander Greek Yoghurt

Yoghurt

Coriander
Salt & Pepper

Lemon Juice

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and fry until soft then add garlic and ginger and continue to fry until light and golden. Add the Mistress of Spice Ras el Hanout and cook for about thirty seconds, or until fragrant.

Add a little salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and the chicken. Brown slightly. Add the sweet potatoes and cover with water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then cover and leave to simmer until the chicken is tender and the potato is half cooked (approx 20 mins).

Simmer uncovered until the sauce is reduced by half or until a consistency to your liking. If the sauce is too runny, increase heat to high and boil uncovered until it reduce. You will need to stir regularly.
Carefully stir in honey, making sure you don't mash up the potatoes. Leave to bubble uncovered for a few more minutes. Taste and season as desired.

Serve with basmati rice and coriander greek yoghurt.

E.

Chicken, Chickpea & Apricot Tagine

Unfortunatley I was so keen to serve and eat that this photo is as close as I have to the final product! The left overs....

If i cook it again, and I KNOW I will, I'll be sure to update this blog and show the final product... But you get the idea! Fabulous Winter Meal!

I have cooked this dish twice and both times has been a raging success. I actually discovered it when our wonderful girlfriend Laura cooked it for me. She had purchased a Tagine and prepared this very dish. The next morning I ordered my Tagine! Although I have discovered a tagine isnt necessarily necessary for this recipe, a croc pot or large pot with a lid is fine!

I added zucchini and carrot to the original recipe. I found with the tagine that it becomes far too full to fit in all the chickpeas, the carrot AND the zucchini so I added as much of each as I could! So see how you go, if you use a crock pot or a large pot you should be fine!

6 skinless chicken breasts, chopped into large chunks
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 large onions, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1-2tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
inch fresh gingerroot, finely chopped
180g dried apricots
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tins chopped tomato
2 cans chick peas, drained
3 tablespoons honey
300ml chicken stock
1 pinch saffron
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 zucchini, sliced
4 teaspoons ras el hanout spice mix (whcih can be purchased from the Mistress of Spice Website for $6.50!!) (or make up spice mix below)
1 teaspoon ground coriander (Cilantro)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
salt and black pepper
chopped fresh coriander, to serve (Cilantro)

Heat up olive oil in a frying pan/tagine & saute chopped onions & garlic for 5-10 minutes.

Add chicken stock & gradually mix in flour or cornflour until well mixed & not lumpy.Add honey & tomato paste & mix well.

Add herbs,spices & finely chopped ginger with salt & pepper to taste.

Finally add tinned tomatoes & mix well.

Add chicken & chickpeas & mix well.

Add dried apricots making sure they are covered by juice. (Add the carrots and zucchini if using.).

Give it a gentle but good stir to mix everything together well.


If using a tagine, put lid on and place in oven at 160 degrees and cook for a good 2 to three hours. If using a crock pot or large pot, cover with lid/alfoil and simmer for a good 2 to 3 hours.


CORIANDER YOGHURT
5 tablespoons greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
The juice of one lemon
Salt & Pepper
Mix together and serve along side the meal.

PAPRIKA TURKISH BREAD
Turkish bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons powdered paprika
Cut turkish bread into approx 5cm by 2cm slithers.
Toast the underside under a grill.
Take out and turn over and brush with the paprika mixed with the olive oil using a pastry brush. Toast.
Serve with the meal.

DIVINE!

E.