Customer Reviews

Tagine: Spicy Stews from Morocco

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

After having received this book a few months ago I have been making Tagines every weekend. No one has complained yet!! The recipes are superb. Wonderfully easy to put together. Since I have a moroccan tagine I always put the tagine in the oven at 180 degrees celcius for an hour and half plus an extra 20-30 minutes or so for additional vegetables, flavours, etc.

There is an excellent recipe for plain couscous and a wonderful country
salad at the back of the book. My favourite tagines are the slightly sweet ones with dates, prunes, apricots and the different types of nuts that are added toward the end of the cooking time. There is also a wonderful Lamb, Zuchinni and tomato tagine that has both dried mint and
fresh mint added to it. There is also a really nice minced beef tagine
with wonderfully tasting preserved lemons which are very easy to make yourself.

If per change the tagine is more meat than vegetable then I make the
roasted pumpkin couscous from Julie Le Clercs 'Made in Morocco'.

A wonderful addition to the 'Tagines' is the book "Modern Moroccan" also
by Ghillie Basan which has a wonderful broad bean salad and carrot salad in it.

I have not used a cook book as much I have used 'Tagine'
This is definately a keeper on the cookbook shelf.

I bought this book after skimming through a store copy at an Allen and Peterson Appliance Store in Kenai, Alaska, and this book convinced me to splurge for an Emile Henry tagine.

This book may not be a 400-page tome of every single Moroccan delicacy, but the recipes are stunning. Also, it gave me enough inspiration to experiment with different ingredients.

I found the list of references to be extremely helpful. And I thought I knew practically all the good foodie sites on the Internet.

What I also liked is that I didn't have to make or purchase a ton of condiments before I had a chance to play with the recipes. However, it is essential to make the preserved lemons. I found that the Meyer lemon was the best. (However, I had to find a huge jar just to hold these large fruits!)

Yummy!! Definitely great comfort food during an Alaskan winter. And don't forget the couscous!

This is an extremely nice set of recipes, all of which were designed to be cooked in a tagine. The title's implication is that if you aren't serious enough to buy one of the conical cookpots, this probably isn't for you (the way a Waffle Cookbook expects you to own a waffle iron); but I have zero problems cooking these dishes in an ordinary chicken fryer, and I can't see that I'm missing anything. (Mind you I wouldn't *mind* one of those pretty tagines, but it hasn't become a necessity yet.) Basically, these are stews or braises... which sounds much less intimidating and exotic, doesn't it?

If you own a general Moroccan cookbook (I have and like Cooking at the Kasbah, plus I've read a few others) you'll certainly find a few tagine recipes, but most of the overview cookbooks stick with a few standards. (Unfortunately for me, that usually means lamb and/or olives, neither of which we eat.) With 25 tagine recipes in this collection, obviously there is a wider range, and not all of them will make you point and say, "Oh, I need to go to the middle-east market to make that!"

For example, the recipe I made so far -- spicy chicken tagine with apricots, rosemary and ginger -- uses ingredients you can find at your local grocery store. It was also breathlessly easy to throw together for a midweek supper: saute onion, rosemary, ginger, chiles; throw in a cinnamon stick; brown the chicken thighs; add a few more items (such as dried apricots and a can of tomatoes) and simmer for 40 minutes. Serve with couscous. I won't need to tell you to smack your lips and say, "Yum!"

A few recipes do call for typical Moroccan ingredients, such as the chile-spice paste call harissa (which you can buy in gourmet markets, if you don't feel like following the author's recipe) and preserved lemons (also available in gourmet markets, though they're *really* easy to make if you happen to find a decent price for a bag of lemons).

There are 6 lamb tagines (such as one with quinces, figs, and honey), 3 beef tagines (one has beets and oranges), 3 chicken, 4 fish, and so on. The 6 vegetarian options don't turn me on all that much (though "baby eggplants with cilantro and mint" sounds good), so I wouldn't encourage a vegetarian to buy this book. Every recipe has a photo of the finished dish.

Overall, though, this is a nice little cookbook -- and you don't have to buy any hardware before you invest in it.

I am a huge fan of Moroccan cooking, and I have spent a lot of time in Morocco learning how to cook the food. I was hoping that this book would fill in some of the more regional recipes, which it did. However, the "less traditional" recipes are what disappointed me. I tried one of the lamb recipes and it was good, but some of the recipes call for ingredients that would be extremely hard to find. Some could be found in gourment food shop, and some you would have to go to a specialty shop to find them. Almost all Moroccans rely on simple foods put out at the souq, and some of the ingredients were items that I have not seen in Morocco. I would even venture to call this Moroccan fusion, but if you are looking for typical Moroccan recipes, it has some, but not many.

I have always loved Middle Eastern meals and have developed a fondness Moroccan food and all it's specialized cookware in particular. And cooking it and collecting the cookbooks. I am in the process of collecting all cookbooks from this author for the simple reason that you often hear "You eat with you eyes also." "Ghille," of Turkish descent understands this and her cookbook photos with the help of a series of professional photographers not only help you see your "goal" in a dish that may be brand new to you but they inspire you to try this dish as many of these photos will make you salivate with anticipation. And there is a picture for each dish. Visuals are an important feature I consider when determining which cookbook to purchase. Cooking starts long before you make a list of ingredients to purchase. Ghille instills a visual "crave" anticipation before the delightful aromas and tastes of the food are experienced. I like "prolonged anticipation" when I cook. Her cookbooks continue to get better.

We've been picking out a tagine or two to prepare each week... and so far all have been absolutely delicious! Because some of the items must cook slowly to enhance the flavors, I imagine it would be difficult to overcook anything-- yay for me! There is a middle eastern market near my house where I have been able to get some of the unique spices and ingredients. I have also found there are plenty of spice retailers online if you don't have access to such a market near you. The book admits there are some not-so-traditional tagines included, like the creamy shellfish tagine. Totally delicious, however. There was one recipe with saffron in the title, but saffron could not be found listed ANYWHERE in the recipe. I found that perplexing. Still, I rate this book 4-stars as it has brought new culinary delights to our table and tummies!

This slim book is full of easy recipes that don't need a lot of fiddly prepearation nor several exotic ingedients. The food is wonderfully tasty, and not overpoweringly spicey unless you make it so. The recipes work well in a tagine but also in a crock pot or regular casserole dish. Highly reccomended

I gave this book as a Christmas present to a "Chef". He loved the recipes and how beautiful the book was - this is a great one!

I've tried two of the tagines so far and they both tasted quite refined. It's a small, square-formatted book which makes it pleasant to handle and drool over the photographs. The book is clearly and easily organised with a recipe on one side and a corresponding photograph on the other. I also purchased, by the same author, Ghillie Basan, "Flavors of Morocco"; also a beautiful book to own.

Years ago, while visiting an uncle living in Morocco, I was literally transported by the food. I was also struck by the atmosphere in the market in the old Medina in Casablanca; the aromas of spices and their startling beauty have been unforgetable.

Making tagine, a Morrocan every day basic, is now available for anyone willing to try a delicious and surprisingly simple choice of dishes. All you need to start is a tagine maker and this book. The degree of choices of ingredients coupled with the amount of time you have are up to you. Some dishes cook in 15 minutes, others require more time. But once you have everything combined in your clay tagine maker, time is labor free. I suggest you buy authentic spices without substitutions in order to attain the full impact of this delicious healthful way of cooking. This book could have told us even more but it's ideal to start out with. I was given the book and a clay tagine pot as a Christmas present.