Smoking Tajines and Savory Spices: How to Cook Authentic Moroccan Food

One of the best ways to learn the intimacies of foreign cuisines (and sample the goods!) is to take a cooking class when you travel. I had this amazing experience at Dar Rhizlane Palais and Table D’Hotes one recent morning in Marrakech.

The word tajine refers to both the conical-shaped dish and the food that’s cooked inside it, which is usually a blend of delicious sweet and savoury flavours. Traditionally the ingredients were packed into the pot, the lid was popped on tight, then it was cooked slowly over a smouldering charcoal fire.

Taste.com

Today’s menu:

• Chicken Tajine with Preserved Lemon and Olives
• Berber Vegetable Tagine
• Zalook Salad,
• and for dessert, Milk Pastilla

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I saw tajines being used over charcoal fires in the Berber homes I visited. This is not a gourmet shop gadget. It serves a distinct purpose. The benefit to cooking a tajine (the recipe) in a tajine (the pot) is the pot seals in all of the flavorful ingredients that usually have a bit of moisture from sauce and vegetables. During this process moisture goes up the sides of the lid and back down over the ingredients, creating a self-basting, flavor-enhancing cycle of deliciousness.

And I enjoyed every mouth-watering bite! I highly recommend Dar Rhizlane Palais & Table D’Hotes next time you’re in Marrakech. Click for more information.

Leave a comment if you’d like copies of the recipes!