On Sunday, January 31, on my post I described the fair trade shop, Ten Thousand Villages. This
tangine caught my eye while I was there, and I will return today to buy the glazed, clay
tangine in the photo. I'll take it on my trip so that I can entertain, amaze, and impress my Santa Fe friends with a special meal using this pot, hoping that they don't use one already.
"A
tagine or
tajine (
Berber:
taǧin) is a type of dish found in the
North African cuisines of
Algeria,
Morocco, and
Tunisia, which is named after the special pot in which it is cooked. A similar dish, known as Tavvas, is found in the
cuisine of Cyprus. The traditional tagine pot is formed entirely of a heavy clay which is sometimes painted or
glazed.
It consists of two parts; a base unit which is flat and circular with
low sides, and a large cone or dome-shaped cover that rests inside the
base during cooking. The cover is so designed to promote the return of
all condensation to the bottom. With the cover removed, the base can be
taken to the table for serving.
Recently, European manufacturers have created tagines with heavy
cast iron bottoms that can be fired on a stovetop at high heat. This
permits browning meat and vegetables before cooking. While the similar
Dutch oven and
Sač (a cast iron pot with a tight cover) braises most efficiently in the oven, the tagine braises best on the stovetop." (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The secret, or so I'm told, is in the
spices. I'll also stop today at Penzeys, a wonderful
spice shop on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, to pick up some
special spices. Should be fun!
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