HOW TO COOK THE ORIGINAL MOROCCAN

TAGINE
About moroccan food
Moroccan cuisine is the culinary star of North Africa. Imperial and trade
influence has been filtered and blended into Morocco's culture. Being at
the crossroads of many civilizations, the cuisine of Morocco is a
mélange of Arab, Berber, Moorish, French, Middle Eastern,
Mediterranean African, Iberian, and Jewish influences. Moroccan
cooking is enhanced with fruits, dried and fresh -- apricots, dates, figs,
and raisins, to name a few. Lemons preserved in a salt-lemon juice
mixture bring a unique face to many Moroccan chicken and pigeon
dishes. Nuts are prominent; pine nuts, almonds, and pistachios show
up in all sorts of unexpected places. Moroccan sweets are rich and
dense confections of cinnamon, almond, and fruit perfumes that are
rolled in filo dough, soaked in honey, and stirred into puddings. The
cooks in the royal kitchens of Fes, Meknes, Marrakech, Rabat and
Tetouan refined Moroccan cuisine over the centuries and created the
basis for what is known as Moroccan cuisine today. Spices are used
extensively in Moroccan food. While spices have been imported to
Morocco for thousands of years, many ingredients, like saffron from
Taliouine, mint and olives from Meknes, and oranges and lemons from
Fes, are home-grown. Common spices include karfa (cinnamon),
kamoun (cumin), kharkoum (turmeric), skingbir (ginger), libzar (pepper) ,
tahmira (paprika), anis seed, sesame seed, kasbour (coriander),
maadnous (parsley), zaafrane beldi (saffron) and mint

About Tagine
a tagine is a traditional moroccan clay pot famous with it conical led
which helps be cycle that teeming side and keep the food moist and of
course enhances the flavors .

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Tagine is also the name of a moroccan dish which is usually a protein
plus a vegetable or fruit and some sauce for example we would have a
tagine of meat and potatos or tagine of chiken with caramelized apricots
and so far... .

in this book we're going to learn how to make tagine of chicken with
preserved lemon and olives which we call -tagine of djaj mchermel-
using the moroccan traditional pot - by the way i am a moroccan - so
let's start .

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What do you need to make a tagine
- cilantro and parsley

- olive oil

- garlic

- onions

- chicken

- preserved lemons

- olives

- lemon juice

- saffron

- salt

- pepper

- paprika

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- ginger

- turmeric

- cumin

INGREDIENTS

- 1.5 kg chicken (cut into pieces or just thighs)

Ingredients for Chicken Marinade:

- Saffron water: A large pinch of saffron + 1 cup of warm water. You can
store up to 1 month in the fridge.
We will use 1 teaspoon of saffron water.
- The pulp of 1 large preserved lemon (or 2 small ones)
- A handful of fresh cilantro and parsley
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons ground paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger

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- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Ingredients for the tagine:

- 2 onions (grated)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- Pinch of salt and ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Handful of green olives
- The skin of 1 preserve lemon (cut into quarters)

STEPS:

Preparing the ingredients

1- First, let’s prepare saffron water. Soak the saffron threads in some
warm water for 10 minutes. This method boosts the saffron flavors and
is economical as you can store this flavored water and use it when
needed.

2- Quarter the preserved lemon. Separate the pulp from the skin. Finely
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chop the pulp and reserve the skin for later.

3- Finely chop the parsley and cilantro.

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4- Grate the garlic cloves

Marinating the chicken

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5- Now we are ready, let’s make the charmoula! In a large bowl combine:
the chopped parsley and cilantro, chopped preserved lemon pulp,
garlic, ground paprika, ginger, cumin, pepper, saffron water, and olive
oil. Mix well.

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6- Place the chicken in the charmoula marinade and massage into the
flesh. I am using only chicken tights, but you can use any other chicken
parts.

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7- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Setting the tagine

8- Peel and grate the onions. Finely chop the leftover onion pieces.

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9- Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the tagine and cover with the onions.

10- Sprinkle a little bit of salt and turmeric over the onions.

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11- Add the chicken over the onion bed, and cover with any leftover
charmoula.

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Cooking the tagine

12- When cooking in a traditional tagine over the stove, use a heat
diffuser to avoid burning and cracking the bottom of the tagine. It’s a
must!

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13- On low-medium heat, place the diffuser first, then the tagine on top
of it. Cover and cook for around 15-20 minutes until the onions and
chicken release their juices and the liquids start simmering.

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14- Then, reduce the heat to low, cover the tagine, and cook until the
chicken is tender. This can take 1 hour or more, depending on the
chicken parts and quality of your tagine. Very important – make sure
that the heat is low.

15- Add the lemon juice and green olives to the sauce.

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16- Top the chicken with the preserved lemon skins.

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17- Taste your sauce and add salt if necessary – we wait until the end to
add salt, because the preserved lemons in the charmoula are already
salty!
18- Do not cover the tagine, and continue cooking for another 15
minutes or so, until the liquids have evaporated and the sauce has
thickened.

Serve immediately with crusty bread. Bon appetite!

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Important Notice

if you don't have a tagine in your house [ the traditional

moroccan clay pot] i recommend this one from amazon . it is a
good quality tagine from here https://goo.gl/7UPpDV

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