I was browsing in one of the Epcot Morocco shops recently and found a very interesting display. While I like to think I’ve had experience with many different kinds of food and cooking, I hadn’t yet heard about the Tagine:
Decorative Tagine
Basically, it’s a Mediterranean crock pot!
Interestingly, I’ve heard people speak about tagine-cooked meals several times since finding this display, so maybe it’s just in my consciousness now!
Closed Tagine
Open Tagine
small tagines
Do you have a Tagine? Do you use one in your cooking at home? I’m tempted to ship one home to try it out — or see if I can find one locally.
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Williams-sonoma carries tangines here in TN
I recall an episode of Good Eats where Alton used ceramic planting pots to create a makeshift smoker for barbecue. I would think you could use the same materials, perhaps with some foil or such to plug the hole in the bottom of the planter/top of the tagine. There I go, dorking up the intarwebs again… 🙂
I’ve traveled extensively in Morocco where tagines are used regularly, of course, in home cooking. I purchased some at a store here in the states. However I don’t use them for cooking anymore because I believe the tagines produced in Morocco have lead in them and I was never clear on whether or not the tagines imported to the US were lead-free or not. The decorative tagines are quite beautiful but you can’t cook a meal in it. You could serve your meal in it though, or just use it for decoration. In my opinion the tagine sold at Williams Sonoma is too small. I just use my tagine recipes in a dutch oven and they come out the same. It’s fun to experiement though and the tagine sure is a great conversation piece. 🙂
Williams Sonoma carries the Le Creuset version of tagines.