From the North African cuisine the Tagine has made it into our kitchen. The Tagine is an cooking pot made out of pottery. It has a very high lid and characteristic chimney-like top. This allows steam to escape and the food in the tagine to be steamed evenly. Condensation continually falls back inside during preparation. The taste of the food remains optimal. You can cook meats, fish and vegetables in it. Best part is that you can serve the dish inside the Tagine as well!
The tagine is suitable for all different heat sources, including oven, induction and all-electric stoves. When using an oven (if the tagine fits), the condensation will not flow back into the dish, because the lid will be as hot as the bowl.
Cooking with a tagine
Cooking with a tagine is a real treat. It does require some preparation and patience. A tagine can be used for stews and single-pan dishes. In other words, slow-cooking. Cook everything on low to medium heat. By letting your dish simmer for a long time, the meat will be very tender and the spices will be completely absorbed. You can also use a tagine on an open fire. However, it will be more difficult to maintain a steady temperature. The amount of moisture is very important. Don't add too little, but definitely don't add too much. The water will vaporise, rise in the cone-shaped lid, and then flow back into the dish. You barely lose any water. You can also serve your dish in the tagine: it looks beautiful on the dinner table!
Avoid temperature differences
Never expose the tagine to high differences in temperature. This will cause the pan or the cone-shaped lid to crack. As such, you should never put your hot pan directly under a cold tap. Additionally, you should avoid putting ice-cold products in a warm tagine. But most importantly: never put the tagine in a pre-heated oven. Put the tagine in the oven while it is heating up. This allows the tagine to warm up gradually.
