Customer Reviews

Tagines & Couscous: Delicious Recipes for Moroccan One-pot Cooking

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 3:33 Mins

I received a tagine for Christmas and decided to buy Tagines & Couscous by Ghillie Basan as my first Moroccan cookbook. I was so impressed with the photography and the quality of the recipes that I decided to make a video review showing not only the book but also several of the dishes that I made using this excellent, authentic cookbook. I hope that you find it helpful.

Emile Henry Flame Top 2.6-Quart Tagine Red
Harissa Paste 8.0 Oz By Zamouri Spices
Ras El Hanout 4.0 Oz By Zamouri Spices

The Tagines & Coucous Cooking Book is great. The recipies are easy to follow and there is a nice picture of the finnished dish to look at. I have made some of the Tagines in this book and they have turned out great. This the fourth Moroccan Cook Book by Ghillie Basan I have purchased. I reccomend any of her cook books.

I've had this book for a little over a month now and have made several recipes from it. The finished dishes were absolutely delicious and have gotten raves from my husband, who has never been that fond of Moroccan restaurants. But he just loves the food that comes out of this book. The recipes are nicely adapted to the American kitchen and rely on fresh ingredients. The cooking techniques used are not at all complicated and are pretty easy, actually. You don't need a real tagine to cook in (although the ones made by Emile Henry are really pretty); I use a 4 qt. All Clad saute pan and this is the right size for the recipes in the book. The basic buttery couscous recipe is fabulous and is now the only way I make couscous. No more sticky lumps of couscous. Each grain comes out perfectly separate and fluffy and deeply flavorful. This cookbook is also a joy to read, with excellent commentary on Moroccan cooking and folkways and simply gorgeous photography. I also have her Flavors of Moroccan Cooking (I think that's the title) which has a lot of duplicate recipes, but a wider range of foods. But it is also a beautiful book and either one would make a wonderful gift for a friend who likes Mediterranean/ethnic foods.

The pictures are very, very beautiful. The recipes are good, but did not find the work as outstanding to give it five stars. Nonetheless, as a Tagine lover but not the most experienced in this type of cooking, gives a very nice basis, a good overview and get one started. I think its worth the 17 bucks or so!

Lushly illustrated, Tagines and Couscous is a terrific examination of Moroccan clay pot cooking. I became interested in exploring this subject after finding a lovely tagine at a garage sale. The pot was clearly unused, which made me determined to avoid following in the footsteps of the former owner.

The recipes are organized by main ingredients -- lamb; Beef, Kefta,and Sausage; Chicken and Duck; Fish and Seafood; and Vegetable Tagines. There is also a chapter on Couscous and one for Salads and Vegetable side dishes. The first chapter serves as an introduction but also contains recipes for smen (aged butter,) preserved lemons, Chermoula (a Moroccan marinade,) Harissa Paste (condiment or bread may be dipped into it,) and Ras-elhanout (a spice mix.)Not including the above, there are fifty one recipes.

I prepared three dishes from the book: Spicy Chicken Tagine with Apricots, Rosemary and Ginger; Tagine of Yam, Shallots, Carrots, and Prunes; and Plain, Buttery Couscous. The recipes turned out perfectly, and I particularly liked the tangy Yam tagine and the Buttery Couscous was amazing. I will definitely prepare both dishes again.

The cookbook is printed on quality paper so, if done promptly, spills wipe up without a trace. There is a color photograph of each dish but no nutritional information is provided. The ink color is black, which normally makes reading a bit easier than pale colors, but the font size used for the ingredient lists and instructions is quite small and hard to read, especially while the book is laying open on a countertop while preparing a recipe. I had to keep bending down to read the instructions. My guess is the print size is approximately 8 point.

The flavors of Moroccan cooking are distinctive and delicious, which has added new zest to my usual selection of dishes. The tagine is exotic enough that whenever I use it a conversation ensues. This cookbook provides a beautiful and informative introduction to the subject.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone interested in Moroccan Tagine cooking.

I bought this book after my son gave me a Le Souk Ceramique cooking tagine. I own the classic Moroccan cookbook, Paula Wolfert's Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco. The recipes I have tried from this book are at least equal to, if not better than,the ones from that book. One thing I especially like about this book is that the cooking times are realistic if you are using a cooking tagine. Ceramic tagines cannot take a lot of heat, and some supposed tagine recipes from other sources will take much longer than the times indicated. We have loved every recipe we've tried so far, and I hope to try them all.

This book is beautifully written and includes great pictures to illustrate the recipes. We have made one recipe so far and it came out absolutely delicious. I love that there is a section for "salads and vegetable side dishes," so that you can make side dishes that complement the dinner perfectly. My boyfriend went to Morocco and that's where he bought his tagine -- he is very particular about Moroccan food, but he thought dinner came out great and that the recipes were all wonderful!

All the recipes I have tried so far from this book have been excellent. Directions are easy to follow, results are delicious. Someone obviously took the time to test and proofread these recipes, unlike so many cookbooks out there! I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in making Moroccan food at home.

Tagines & Couscous is an excellent book and absolutely worth buying. It's a great value for the price and you will love the recipes.

I picked this book up at Williams & Sonoma and have made several of the recipes in it. All have been delicious and easy to prepare. Often, I prefer to use my Le Creuset covered casserole pan to brown the meat and let it stew. Just before serving, I transfer the dish into a decorative tagine purchased from Williams & Sonoma. It's been a hit so far.