It’s a very seasonal French Fridays with Dorie (at least for those of us in snowy Toronto today!) – a tagine is the ultimate comfort food. This version from Dorie combines a spice blend that’s reminiscent of Morocco, yet Dorie says: “I don’t think there’s very much that’s authentic in this recipe, which was given to me by a friend-of-a friend in France, Francoise Maloberti, but never mind — the pleasure you’ll get from it is plenty authentic.”
Sometimes spelled tajine, the word refers to both the finished dish as well as to the earthenware/ clay pot in which it’s cooked. The pots are gorgeous (and believe me, we eyed them in both Morocco and Tunisia years ago!) but impractical to carry in one’s luggage and the decent ones here are quite expensive so, thankfully, to make a tagine, you don’t need one – a Dutch oven or high-sided skillet will do the trick nicely!
Dorie calls the fragrance from the spices as the dish cooks “dizzying – wonderfully, delightfully and intoxicatingly so” and I have to say I agree. This was cooked slowly over the course of a chilly Sunday afternoon as I pottered about the kitchen – it’s a pretty hands-off dish (the best kind!). Perfect cold weather fare and looking out the window this morning at the piles of snow outside, it makes me wish there were still leftovers!
Get the recipe for Dorie’s Lamb and Dried Apricot Tagine here or on page 284 of Around my French Table.
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Yeah, this one smelled amazing as it cooked away! Bill didn’t mind it, once I told him most of the “exotic” spices were in the sauce. He scraped that away and ate the lamb without complaint. I think we have a very similar Dutch oven 🙂
Uh. I think that makes three of us with that Dutch oven:-)
This did smell pretty good while it was cooking.
Looks great, Mardi! Glad you all enjoyed it so much! And what a great cold weather dish!
I, too, have always been tempted to buy a tagine, but I just don’t think I’d use it enough to justify the cabinet space, when a dutch oven seems to do the trick. Your stew looks wonderful!
Very exotique!
I love it. Might even make it tonight.
It’s the size of my kitchen which keeps me from buying all the pretty cookware which I really want. I have a rule that, until I win the lottery and move into a place with a much bigger kitchen, no single use tools are allowed in my kitchen. Until then, the dutch oven is a workhorse.
This really is a great cold weather dish! I was sorry I couldn’t get it done this week…however it is on my agenda for dinner tomorrow night! Yours looks delectable…the sauce sounds amazing!
I finally did get the red kuri soup done…a winner for sure! Happy Friday!
Glad that this tagine was in sync with your weather. It’s cold here in the mountains also so anything that’s stew-y works just fine. I liked these spices and flavoring, loved the lamb recipe but couldn’t eat this routinely. Give me a beef stew anytime. But it was delicious and I am glad the two of you enjoyed it also.
No, it’s four of us with the same Dutch oven, all my favorite Doristas. This was so perfect for the weather! Loved this one too!
Looks and sounds wonderful. Catherine
I will only permit a tajine in this house that is genuinely from Maroc or Tunis or Algiers. No Habitant or IKEA here!
Just love tajine, and this one was delightful. A tad too watery for my tastes — but the flavours were great. (And the apricots really brought a decidedly anti-wintry shine to the dish.)
I paired with a Domaine des Ouleb Thaleb Syrah de Maroc for some authenticity. As a 2006, it was displaying lots of earthy and muchroom notes. A glorious match – and for a moment, on a dark, wintry Toronto evening, brought us back to Marocco… 🙂
http://www.winealign.com/wines/4748-Domaine-Des-Ouleb-Thaleb-Tandem-Syrah-Du-Maroc-2006
I just finished my leftovers today and am sad about it. It’s a dish that’s even better on the third day!
My next Dutch oven has to be blue… I love how the color of the dish pops out. 🙂
I think it’s funny that a dish from a warm weather country is so perfect for a cold day, but it was it really was. Glad you enjoyed it too.
I agree, this is perfect for cold weather and delicious!
We loved this one too. A stew is great comfort food and we have had cold weather in California lately too. I would make a few adjustments next time but would like to make it again.
ooh the aroma was just devastatingly tasty!!
I just adore tagines – this was fabulous.