I ordered this following a vacation trip to Morocco. WHY DIDN"T I BUY ONE IN MOROCCO ? I was impressed with the Moroccan style of Tagine cooking but wasn't sure I could count on a lead-free glazes on the Tagines at the markets or shops. I was told the cooking Tagines were plain terra cotta and the decorative ones were for serving only. Before I ordered my Le Creuset Tagine, I put up several jars of salted preserved lemons. When the Tagine arrived I was surprised to find a lighter weight bottom than the normal Le Creuset enamel over cast iron cookware and a heavy pottery chimey top. I read reviews, suggestions and recipes on line and decided to try a chicken, lemon and olive tagine as my first dish. I combined the cooking instructions that came from Le Creuset with a recipe I got in Morocco. When I watched tagine cooking in Morocco, at various stages of cooking, they set the chimey top of the tagines on the edge of the base and ocassionally removed it from the base. I observed the cooking process done on small burners over glowing coals and on wood fired stove tops. When I made the chicken tagine, I use a FLAME TAMER (a star shaped wire that sits on the electric burner of a stove and dispurses the heat). I watched the tagine and adjusted the lid/cone as needed to more closely replicate the Moroccan style of cooking in my home kitchen. The result was fabulous. Great if you love to cook and fuss with food as I do.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
Although I have no background to vouch for any ethnic authenticity of this product (I was almost thrown out of Williams Sonoma when I asked the lady if I could prepare a beef stew in a tagine), I will say that the Le Creuset version is a very attractive piece of decor and it makes for some awesome stews.
So far I have not been able to get food to stick to the base (unlike my other Le Creuset pots) and the steaming at low heat does seem to concentrate & intensity the flavor. I bought some new (to me) spices (cumin, tumeric, coriander seeds, etc) to follow some simple recipes and everything has come out wonderfully well.
The only down side is that it will not make a lot of food at once (dinner for four is a stretch) and it is not quick. But it does things for stews that no other preparation method can do.
No comments:
Post a Comment