Moroccan Beef Tajine\Tagine with Squash

The mild flavor of the buttercup squash and the melt in your mouth beef is a great combination.  The recipe is from the book The African and Middle Eastern Cookbook by Josephine Bacon and Jenni Fleetwood. I altered it a bit.  The original recipe calls for sweet potatoes.  I was at a farmer's market the other day and bought a buttercup squash.  I have developed a love for squash since I have been cooking Moroccan food.  Whenever we would make couscous, the squash was eaten first.  I guess that I wasn't the only one who liked the squash.  You can use pumpkin, butternut squash, or rutabaga instead of sweet potatoes.  Lamb can be replaced with the beef in this recipe as well. 

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 lbs of beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs butter or ghee

1 onion chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp or to taste cayenne pepper

salt/pepper to taste

1 tbs each chopped Italian parsley and cilantro

1 fresh red or green chilli, seeded and chopped (optional)

1 cup of water

1 lb sweet potatoes or squash or rutabaga, cut into 2 inch chunks

In the bottom of a tajine place the olive oil and put on medium heat.  Once hot, add the beef and simmer until it is browned on all sides.  Then add the the spices, parsley, cilantro, chilli and 1/2 cup of water.  Mix well and simmer for about 1 to 1 1/2hours on low heat.  If the sauce evaporates add a bit more water.  You need to check this periodically. Once the meat is tender, arrange the sweet potato or squash on top of the meat.  Cover and cook until the vegetable is tender.  Sprinkle with salt/pepper to your taste.  Serve with crispy bread and a salad or greens.  Enjoy!



Moroccan Potato, Fennel, and Pea Tajine\Tagine

This tajine is a vegetarian's delight.  All I can say about this one is wow!  I did add a chicken bouillon cube, but it is purely optional.  You can use vegetable stock instead. I found this recipe in the book A Month in Marrakesh by Andy Harris.  However, I added more spices and a tomato to my version.  My neighbor, who is also my taste tester, loved this and asked for the recipe.  What I like about her is that she tells the truth.  If something is not good, she will tell me and then I try to make the recipe better.  I cannot tell you how many times I made a sweet potato pie before the recipe was given her approval.

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil

1 onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tomato, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, cut into small slices

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 chicken bouillon cube, optional

1 cup of water

2-3 tbs of Italian parsley and cilantro, or just parsley, or just cilantro

salt/pepper to taste

2-3 tbs ghee or butter or smen for extra flavor and to provide body to the sauce

3-4 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters

2 fennel bulbs, cut in half and then cut in half again, small quarters

1/2 cup of frozen peas

Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a tajine over medium heat.  Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, tomato, spices, bouillon cube and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Next, add the celery and the fennel.  Cook for about 10 minutes.  Fennel is very dense and takes longer to cook than the potatoes.  Then add the potatoes and butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Simmer on medium heat until the vegetables are tender.  Once done, add the peas and cook an additional 10 minutes or until the peas have plumped up.  If the sauce is too thin, uncover and simmer until the sauce has reduced.  It needs to be somewhat thick. Serve with crispy bread, alone, or over couscous.  Enjoy!

Cooks Note:  The recipe calls for the juice of 1 lemon and 1 1/2 tsp of mint.  I felt that this recipe didn't need anything more.  But feel free to experiment until you find your own special version.  

Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Tajine\Tagine for Vegetarians

Summer is an excuse for serving light meals, especially healthy ones.

I was talking to a group of ladies about Moroccan food one night while at dinner.  One of the women is a vegetarian.  She wondered if there are dishes in Morocco without meat.  I am happy to say that there are lots of them.  This is a somewhat sweet and slightly hot tajine.  I had a veggie dinner today.  I had fried okra along with the beans and carrots. The best part is that it is all done within an hour so that you can enjoy your day and not be bogged down in the kitchen.

Ingredients:


3 tbs olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or red chili pepper
a pinch of ras el hanout
2-3 TBS Italian parsley and cilantro, finely chopped
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 - 1 cup of water
4-5 carrots, cut in half and then in half again
1 1/2 -2 cups of garbanzo beans, already cooked
2-3 tsp honey
1/4 cup golden raisins


In the bottom of the tajine add the olive oil, spices, parsley, cilantro, bouillon cube, and water.  Simmer for about 5-10 minutes.  Then add the carrots and garbanzo beans.  Simmer until the carrots are tender.  Next, add the raisins and honey, simmer for about 10 minutes, until the raisins plump up.  Serve with crispy bread.  Enjoy!


Cooks note:  This is wonderful with couscous.   

Tajine\Tagine of Chicken and Carrots

Here is another sweet yet savory dish with chicken and carrots.  It is amazing how many combinations of meat and vegetables that one can put together and it turn out amazing. What I like the most is that this is healthy eating. Every tajine dish that you cook is filled with fresh vegetables and meat or just vegetables. 

Ingredients:

4 chicken pieces, breasts, legs, thighs or a combination

2 onions, chopped

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp turmeric

a pinch of saffron threads

1 cinnamon stick

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 tbs olive oil

salt\pepper to taste

1 lbs carrots, peeled and quartered

3 tbs Italian parsley, chopped 

3 tbs cilantro, chopped

1 tbs honey

juice of 1 lemon or lime (I prefer the taste of lime

1/2 cup of water

Place the onions, parsley, cilantro, all of the spices, honey, lime juice, and the olive oil in the bottom of the tajine over medium heat.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.  Next, add the chicken and water, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, turning over about half way through, browning on both sides.  Arrange the carrots in a circular pattern on top of the chicken.  Cover and simmer until the carrots are very tender.  If the sauce is too runny, uncover and cook until the sauce has reduced to a somewhat thick sauce.  Serve with Khobz or French bread.  Enjoy! 



Tajine\Tagine of Lamb with Fava & Garbanzo Beans

I didn't eat garbanzo beans much before I was introduced to Moroccan food.  I had never heard of fava beans either.  The recipe calls for fresh fava beans.  I cannot find them where I live and I had no choice but to use the canned ones in this recipe.  It was wonderful anyway.  The olives and preserved lemon gives it a bit of tang with the savoriness of the meat, a great combination. 

 

Ingredients:

1- 1 1/2 lbs of lamb in 3-4 inch pieces

2 lbs of fava beans or use garbanzo or a combination of both, fresh, frozen or canned

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp paprika

a pinch of  saffron

1 onion chopped

3 garlic cloves minced

1 small tomato, skinned and chopped

2-3 tbs olive or vegetable oil

salt/pepper to taste

1/4 - 1/2 preserved lemon

a handful of green olives

1 tbs each of cilantro and Italian parsley, chopped

1 tbs smen (optional) 

Place the tajine on medium heat.  When hot add the oil, onion, tomato, garlic, cilantro, parsley and all of the spices.  Simmer for about 5-10 minutes.  Next add the lamb chunks, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes to an hour or longer until the meat is tender.  Once the meat is ready, add the fava beans, olives and preserved lemon.  Simmer until the beans are tender, about 10 - 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with cilantro or parsley and serve with crispy bread.  Enjoy!

Cook's Note:  I used smen to add a bit of extra flavor.  I like the oregano smell and the food taste's so much better with it or you add a little dried oregano to the rest of the spices.

Tajine\Tagine of Chicken or lamb with Sweet Potatoes and Raisins

Men love meat and they love sweet things.  When you can combine both, then you will have a winner with them. Once at a dinner party, I had a man tell me this.  So, it came from the horses mouth, well, you know what I mean. I really like this dish very much.  It is savory, sweet with a hint of heat.  I used summer squash in this dish because I like the taste so much. 

Ingredients:

2 lbs of chicken, lamb, beef or goat

3-4 TBS olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 tomato, skinned and chopped

2-3 TBS cilantro chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp paprika

A pinch of saffron threads

¼ tsp cinnamon or a cinnamon stick (my preference)

1 chicken bouillon cube

Salt\pepper to taste

¼ tsp red chili pepper powder or cayenne or 1 tbs harissa

¼ cup of golden raisins

1 ½ - 2  lbs sweet potatoes or summer squash, cut into large cubes

Water if needed

Place the tajine bottom on medium heat.  When hot add the oil, onion, cilantro, garlic, tomato, bouillon cube, and all of the spices.  Mix well and simmer for about 5-10 minutes.  Then place the meat or chicken in the pan.  Cover and simmer until the meat is nearly cooked.  If you are using beef , lamb or goat it may have to cook for about 1- 1 1\2 hours until the meat is tender.  Add water if the sauce gets too thick.  Next, add the sweet potatoes and raisins and cook until the vegetables are tender.  If you have too much sauce and it is thin, uncover and simmer until the sauce has reduced. You want the sauce to be somewhat thick but not like a gravy.  Serve with a salad and crispy bread or khobz.  Enjoy!

Moroccan Tajine\Tagine of Chicken, Artichokes, and Potatoes

Artichokes are very expensive and I have found frozen ones at my local grocer for a fraction of the cost of the fresh.  This tajine has cinnamon in it. When I first started using cinnamon in my recipes it was a shock to my tastebuds. However, I have grown used to that sweet\savory taste and like it very much.  I prefer a cinnamon stick to the dried, but you can always use the dried if it is all you have. 

Ingredients:

4-6 pieces of chicken, skin removed

3-4 TBS vegetable or olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 tomato, skin removed and chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 TBS cilantro, chopped

salt\pepper to taste

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick, about 2 inches

a pinch of saffron

4 artichoke hearts fresh or frozen

4 medium potatoes, cut into wedges

Place the tajine on medium heat, add the oil.  When hot add the onion, cilantro, bay leaf, tomato, and all of the spices.  Simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Then add the chicken. Simmer for about 30 minutes, turning over half way through. Some people add everything at once, but I like the meat to cook the meat a bit first.  Next, place the potatoes wedges on top of the meat and then arrange the artichoke hearts.  Cover and simmer until the vegetables are nearly tender. The sauce should be somewhat thick but not thick like gravy. If it is too watery, then uncover and cook the sauce down until it is silty. Sprinkle with additional salt\pepper to taste.  Serve with Khobz or French bread.  Enjoy! 

Cooks Note: You can also add 1\2 cup of peas to this recipe if you like. 

Moroccan Vegetable Tajine\Tagine from Mourad New Moroccan Cookbook

Just recently, I bought Mourad Lahlou's new cookbook called: Mourad New Moroccan.  I love seeing a man who is passionate about cooking.  I enjoyed the pictures and the stories, but most of all the recipes.  He even shows you how to make couscous from scratch, which I will be trying soon.  When I saw the vegetable tajine, I wanted to try it right away.  It was very good and great for those who are vegetarians.

Red Charmoula

1 tbs kosher salt

1 tbs sweet paprika

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

Salt\pepper to taste

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbs each of Italian parsley and cilantro, chopped

1 tbs chopped preserved lemon

1 tbs fresh lemon or lime juice (I prefer the taste of lime)

1 cup water

1\2 cup tomato puree

1\2 cup of olive oil

A pinch of saffron

A pinch of cayenne pepper or harissa

Mix all together in a large bowl and set aside.  The original recipes calls for 2 recipes of Charmoula but use only 1 cup of water and 1\2 cup of olive oil.  Make one batch of charmoula and if you feel that it will not be enough, then add the second batch.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Vegetable Tajine

12 cups of prepared vegetables such as: cauliflower, broccoli, Carrots, potatoes, turnips, fennel bulbs, cipollini ( I used boiler onions) onions, all cut into 1- 1 1\2 inches pieces and the cauliflower and broccoli into small floweret’s.

1\2 cup of cooked chickpeas

1\4 cup of golden raisins (optional)

Put the charmoula in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 25-30 minutes and stir often and cook until the sauce has reduced by 1\4. Layer the vegetables in the bottom of the tajine with the largest and most dense vegetables on the bottom. The chickpeas and raisins go in the middle of the mixture.  Then pour the warm charmoula over the vegetables . Put the heat on medium and bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook for about an hour or until the vegetables are tender. Garnish with parsley and some preserved lemon slices and paper thin slices of the vegetables.  Enjoy

Cooks Note:  I liked this recipe but found that the smoked paprika interfered with the overall taste.  I am not sure that smoked paprika is used in Morocco.  Use at your discretion. 

Moroccan Tajine\Tagine of Chicken, Onion, Raisins with French Fries

If you like recipes with that sweet and savory flavor then you will love this one.  I love it.  With all of the onions in the recipe, I thought it would reek of onions, but it didn't. The sweetness of the raisins and cinnamon balanced out the overall flavor. It is served with French fries on top.  I think that men/boys will love this one because of the meat and the sweetness.  They are kind of funny that way.

4-5 pieces of chicken, skin removed 
3 large thinly sliced onions
3 TBS chopped Italian Parsley, save 1/2 for marinade
4 TBS vegetable oil
1 TBS garlic, minced
1 tsp each of turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon or use a cinnamon stick (my preference)
salt/pepper to taste
1/2 tsp saffron powder (food coloring)
1/2 cup golden raisins
water (about 1/2 cup)
chicken bouillon cube

Mix all of the spices, oil, herbs, and bouillon cube and half of the parsley in a bowl.  Add the chicken pieces and marinate for 30 minutes. Take the chicken out of the bowl and set aside. Place all of the onions in the marinade and mix well.  Place the tajine on medium heat and add about 2-3 TBS oil.  When the tajine is hot add some of the onion marinade and the chicken pieces. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes.  Then add the remainder of the onions and a little water (about 1/2 cup).  Cover and cook for about 40 minutes.  Add the raisins and cook another 20 minutes or if the sauce is too thin uncover and allow the sauce to cook down until it is somewhat thick.  The cooking time may vary and don't rush.  Tajine recipes are the best when they are allowed to cook slowly. Sprinkle with the remainder of the parsley.  Serve with French fries on top and khobz.  Enjoy!

Moroccan Tajine\Tagine with Shrimp, Ginger, Cumin, and Paprika

This recipe is from Ghillie Basan's book called Flavors of Morocco with a couple of changes by me.  The original recipe said to cook the shrimp with the shells on, but I didn't like that idea.  Also, I didn't use lemon either. Which is the great thing about recipes.  Just use them as a guide and create a special dish for yourself. 

Shrimp Tajine with Ginger, Cumin and Paprika

Ingredients:

3 TBS olive oil

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ginger powder or a 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled, grated

1 Chile, seeded and chopped or a tsp of harissa (optional)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 lb of jumbo shrimp, shelled

1 small bunch of cilantro, about 6-10 sprigs, finely chopped

Salt\pepper to taste

1 lemon, cut into wedges (optional)

Heat the oil in the bottom of a tajine or frying pan.  Stir in the spices and cilantro.  Let simmer (about 1-2 minutes)  until a nice aroma comes up from the pan.  Add the shrimp and cook until they have turned opaque, don't over cook them.  Add salt\pepper to taste. Serve immediately with the lemon wedges. This goes great with a lettuce leaf salad and Moroccan Khobz or any kind of crispy bread you like. Serves 4.  Enjoy!