Many people are intimidated by cooking in tajine (also referred to as a tagine), but it’s really a simple process. Moroccan Furniture wants to share the basics of cooking in a tajine tutorial to get you started. Tajines are Moroccan cooking container, and they’ve existed inside and outside of Moroccan culture for hundreds of years; they are actually considered the first slow cookers. There are two main kinds of tajines – glazed and unglazed. A glazed tagine has a shiny layer on top of it, and they are often painted with decorative patterns.
If you have decided to purchase a tagine from Treasures of Morocco, it will be prepared to cook in immediately. You should look into purchasing some spices and herbs you can use when cooking with a tajine. If you bought an unglazed tajine, you can prepare it for cooking with the following tajine tutorial below:
- Rub the bottom and the lip of the tagine with olive oil.
- Add warm water and let it sit in the tajine for at least 24 hours.
- Let it air dry.
- Fill the bottom with salt water and place it in a cold oven.
- Turn the heat on in the oven to 250 degrees and leave for 30 minutes.
- Remove the tajine and let it cool.
- Do not use soap to clean an unglazed tajine, as it could get stuck in the clay, even if you wash it out. It will begin to take on more and more flavor with age and use, so that’s why you should add soap to the unglazed tajine. Just use water, and you can scrub with salt water to get any charred bits.
- When adding your ingredients, keep your fattier ingredients, like olive oil and butter, in the bottom. Add vegetables based on the cooking time, so the veggies that take longer should go on the bottom.
- You can add anything that just needs to be heated up, like olives, on the top in the last 15 minutes of cooking. After all of the vegetables have been added, add the meat and spiced, and then liquid.
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If you’re interested in purchasing a tajine, visit the Moroccan Furniture. We offer free shipping to the Continental United States. Contact us now!
