Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #584 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 64 pages

Customer Reviews

The best smelling food I've ever cooked!
I bought this book after receiving a Le Creuset tagine for Christmas and wanting to do it justice! It's quite a small book so I wasn't sure how useful it would be at first, but unlike so many recipe books, every recipe is exciting and one you'd want to cook again. You need a certain amount of forward planning both in terms of sourcing all the ingredients and setting aside enough time to slow cook the recipes - but it is well worth it. The aroma of the different spices used in each recipe gradually fill the house as you slow cook the food - making you very ready for dinner when the time comes!

I would highly recommend this book as a good starting point, after making a few recipes you'll have enough ideas and confidence to start inventing your own.

Tagine Heaven
I just love tagine because they are so easy to do but until I found this book I just made the same old recipe. The recipes are varied although a bit sweet for my taste but having tried them I now know how to adjust them.

A great introductory book to the spicy stews of Morocco
from Ghillie Basan, with photography by Martin Brigdale.

From the back cover:-

'Experience the authentic tastes of Morocco with these hearty meals that are prepared and served in their own special pot.'

Approx. 20 cm x 19.5 cm book with hardback covers, and dust-jacket, opening to 64 shiny quality pages split into chapters:-

The Secret of Tagines, a general overview which includes the 'essential recipes' for:-

* Preserved lemons
* Harissa
* Ras-el-hanout
* Ghee

Traditional Lamb Tagines
Beef, Kefta and Sausage Tagines
Chicken and Duck Tagines
Fish and Seafood Tagines
Vegetable Tagines
Accompaniments

plus a full index.

'..... a tagine/tajine is a glorified stew worthy of poetry.
Aromatic and syrupy, zesty and spicy, or sweet and fragrant are just some of the words that come to mind.
A dish of tender meat or succulent vegetables, simmered to perfection in buttery sauces with fruit, herbs, honey and chillies, an authentic tagine is in a class of its own and has become a fundamental feature of Moroccan cuisine......'

Each recipe is laid out with a relevant opening note, the title, the list of ingredients, number of servings and a clearly laid out method.
Every main recipe has a full colour finished dish photograph, and has suggestions for accompaniments and side dishes.

If new to the art of tagine cooking, this book is an excellent starting point as it introduces tried and tested traditional recipes along with some lesser known ones.

A traditional example is:-

'Lamb Tagine with Prunes, Apricots and Honey', from page 15, recommended to be served with a crunchy salad and chunks of bread to balance the sweetness.

An example of a less-common recipe is:-

'Tagine of Beef with Beetroot and Oranges', from page 23.
This is a fruity, earthy and very filling recipe, especially when served with the plain buttery couscous, featured on page 60!

An oven cooked example, is:-

'Oven-Baked Tagine of Red Mullet, Tomatoes and Lime', from page 41.
Although any fish which fits the size of your tagine will result in a deliciously moist, tasty dish.

Other recipes include:-

'Summer Tagine of Lamb, Courgettes, Peppers and Mint'
'Kefta Tagine with Eggs and Roasted Cumin'
'Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon, Green Olives and Thyme'
'Tagine of Baby Aubergines with Coriander and Mint' (although I find that the dish is equally successful using larger slim aubergines, cut into pieces)

and a refreshing salad to accompany the spicier tagines:-

'Melon and Mint Salad with Orange Flower Water'
(however, in support of the less sweeter tooth, I do tend to omit the optional tablespoon of sugar or clear honey!)

Super addition to a kitchen bookshelf!