Tagines and Couscous: Delicious recipes for Moroccan one-pot cooking

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.

I bought this based on everyone else's high ratings after receiving a Le Creuset tagine for my birthday. I am a changed woman. I have now made four recipes from this cookbook and each one has been absolutely fantastic!! I haven't tried any other Moroccan tagine cookbooks yet, but I know I will be content with this one for awhile. The chicken, lamb, and veggie recipes are all unique in flavor. You will never tire of the same flavors should you choose to try a new recipe each week. Some are fruity, some are sweet, some are citrusy and some are hearty for winter or light for summer. There are also recipes for side dishes and salads in the back of the book to accompany any tagine you choose. The pictures are beautiful. The recipes are easy. The dishes are very delicious. You are a fool if you do not purchase this cookbook.

Well written, and very well illustrated (photos) cookbook highlighting Moroccan tagine cuisine. I've tried about eight of the recipes exactly- lamb, duck, vegetable tagines among them. The suggested ingredients and the ratios seem to be right on, really beautiful and complex flavors; the cooking times, however, are quite a bit off. Using a traditional clay tagine, significantly longer times are required to prepare the recipes- be advised. Still, a very useful overview of the potential of an ancient and great cooking technique.

I wanted to learn a new way of cooking and expand my repertoire of spices and flavors so I decided to try tajine cooking, so chosen because I like Mediterranean and Moroccan cuisine. I'm working through this book and thus far the flavors are exquisite and the recipes are fairly straight forward and easy to make. Ingredients are readily available in our local grocery store.

Borrowed a copy from a friend and fell in love with it, so I bought my own. We just returned from a short trip to Morocco and I made a few things out of here before the trip so we could be familiar with the flavor palate while there. The recipes in this book are as good as anything we ate there! I also made the preserved lemons from the book, easy, delicious, and crucial for some recipes. Lucky enough to buy Meyer lemons while still in season for it, fantastic. It looks like there are some books that are more comprehensive, but this has everything I need: several tagines with great variety (more than I saw on menus over there), basics like lemons, smen, couscous, and a few lovely salads.

Awesome book to add to repertoire of Middle East cookbooks. It’s very informative with much good advice of ingredients to use in Tangines to get perfection. The quality of ceramic is excellent for the use it provides. The artisan is special to take the time to make such an excellent product. The food comes out moist and flavorful

No mention of how to prepare...or even IF you need to prepare a tagine for first use. Yet a heat diffuser is recommended which makes me think the author did consider it would be a newbie using the book. The recipes do NOT tell you what size tagine the recipe is designed for. Since I bought the smaller one before I committed big bucks, I was uncertain...will this spill over? do I cut the recipe in half? How much stuff do I really need of these exotic ingredients... Beautiful pictures, the recipes seem fine, but big holes if you thought this was going to be an instruction type book.

The first time I looked through this book, I didn't think I'd get much use from it--sort of an "Oh, well" reaction. But as I have looked through it several more times, I've realized what a good book it is. First, the photography is beautiful--rich color and intricate detail. Second, Basan opens the book with the basics of making some basics: the aged butter called smen (I'm passing on that one); preserved lemons (I've put up my first batch); chermoula (a marinade I'd like to try on fish); harissa paste (a super hot spice mixture I'll avoid); and ras-el-hanout (a very commonly used spice mixture which I'll have to try making on my own unless someone sells it commercially without black pepper). I also like the way the book is divided into sections: lamb tagines (a "tagine" is a food mixture as well as the dish in which this food mixture is cooked), beef & sausage tagines, poultry tagines, seafood tagines, vegetable tagines, couscous dishes, and other side dishes. I've made one lamb tagine and one vegetable tagine, both with good results, and I've marked 13 other recipes I'd like to try. There is a learning curve with these recipes, but don't let the difference intimidate you (I'll admit to being a little scared at first). However, the difference is the fun of trying these new tastes. And you don't need a tagine dish, though I wish I had one--you can use a wide covered frying pan or a heavy iron pot with a lid (like a Le Creuset or Lodge French/Dutch oven).

肉、魚、野菜に分けてモロッコのタジン鍋レシピを紹介しています。伝統的なマトンからほぼタジン鍋を器として使うような軽いサラダ系料理まで網羅していて、美しい写真がそれぞれのレシピについています。いままで５つほど試していますが、とてもおいしいです。また、レシピに書かれているように、厚手のキャッセロールなどでも同じように調理でき、タジン鍋そのものは必須ではありません。使用する材料もほとんど日本で手に入るので、試しやすいと思います。

سلام عليكم لا اريد كتاب انا ابغى طاجن طبخ الاكل

A broad range of delicious tagine and couscous recipes. Straightforward with plenty of added notes on cultural traditions and advice on accompaniments. Recipes also for Moroccan staples such as the ras el hanout spice blend. Beautifully photography, including pictures of each dish. I'm using a pressure cooker rather than tagine or casserole dish. Essentially, I greatly reduce the liquid content, cut the cooking time to around a third and am judicious with the spice etc content. Works wonderfully! (Thanks to hip pressure cooking for a starter tagine recipe as a base).

I received a tagine for Christmas last year (2012) from my brother and used this book to make my second dish: the butternut squash tagine with almonds and sultanas. It turned out looking just like photo. I modified it slightly, adding black-mustard seed to the olive oil at the beginning to give it an additionally nutty flavour. I also tried it with a spice melange from a seller in BC, listed here in Amazon: Sultana Spice World Blends. They also have a Ras el Hanout and a "Moroccan Magic" blend. These were so fragrant that when they arrived in a bubble-wrap package, we could smell them through it. Delicious! I used the "Hot Hot Maroc" with additional roasted cumin and grated ginger too. Today is -30C outside and this was a perfect, toasty, cozy dish for dinner. http://www.amazon.ca/shops/A1OB0B497TGIE0

One of the best cook bookes we own and currently a favorite with our guests. Clear descriptions, easy recipes and absolutely delicious