Not long after my cookbook, Morocco, was published, I returned to that North African country to celebrate with friends. In Marrakech, we gathered around a tagine, an intensely flavored stew of slowly braised meat or seafood cooked in a vessel of the same name. The tagine and the table were round—in Morocco, they always are—to accommodate many, and as we leaned in, shoulders nearly touching, we scooped up tender chunks of lamb with cinnamon-scented onions. A few days later, in a Berber mountain village with another group of friends, we did the same, savoring succulent pieces of turkey gently sweetened with raisins. As is the custom, we didn’t use forks or knives, but rather pieces of bread torn from round loaves, the crust firm enough to carry morsels to our mouths and the insides soft enough to soak up all the saucy goodness at the bottom of the pan.

Tagines are central to Moroccan cuisine

The tagine’s importance in Moroccan cooking cannot be overstated. As a dish, tagine lies at the heart of simple family meals—one family, one table, one dish—as well as being an integral part of festive occasions and celebrations.

Tagines can be made from just about anything, and frequently exhibit Moroccan cuisine’s fondness for combining textures and marrying bold flavors. Lamb, the country’s iconic meat, is a perfect candidate for tagine braising and an ideal foil for Morocco’s signature blending of sweet and savory flavors. The sweetness often comes from fruit, sometimes fresh (quince or pear) but usually dried (prunes, figs, raisins, apricots, dates), along with lots of onions and generous seasonings of cinnamon, ginger, garlic, saffron, honey, or sugar. Chicken is even more versatile, a blank canvas for showcasing sweet and savory flavors, as well as tangy-savory ones. Along Morocco’s lengthy Atlantic coastline, cooks create various fish tagines, too—from monkfish and bream to swordfish, eel, and blue shark—that often skew into savory-only territory, flavored with preserved lemons and olives over a base of seasonal vegetables. But whatever the protein, the flavors and ingredients in a tagine are layered and complex, producing an aromatic stew that never fails to nourish and satisfy.

The lid is key to a tagine’s function

作为船只，Tagine是独一无二的。传统上，圆形，浅，由陶器（粘土，陶土或陶瓷）制成，其功能的关键在于其高大的圆锥形盖，它捕获了缓慢烹饪的食物的水分，凝结并将其恢复到炖菜中保持湿润​​并保留其口味。盖子很少完全关闭，因为一点蒸发对于浓缩口味很有用。取而代之的是，它略微剩下ajar。摩洛哥的许多厨师都喜欢在底座和盖子之间楔入木勺的尽头，以使其保持破裂，这也是我这样做的方式。

Tagine的设计不仅对烹饪有用，而且还足以提供。它的陶器结构也可以使食物很长一段时间。

As utilitarian as the vessel is and as succulent as the meat or fish may be, the real reason for using a tagine is the sauce that forms while the food slowly braises. Sopping up the rich melody of concentrated flavors from the bottom of the pan with hunks of fresh bread is the ultimate reward. I hope you find that to be true as you make the recipes on the following pages—no special occasion required.

The complex flavors of a great tagine come from layering the ingredients into the vessel and then slowly cooking them into a rich stew.

1. 芳香的蔬菜首先进入塔金（Tagine），在锅底提供了一个美味的底座，可保护肉或鱼免受直接热量的影响。
   
2. A snug layer of meat or fish sits atop the bed of vegetables, and any excess marinade is also added to contribute its flavor to the dish.
   
3. 额外的水果和蔬菜在肉或鱼周围装饰，或放在上面。有时，它们会首先添加原始或par煮，而其他时候它们会分别烹饪并在末端添加。
   
4. 坦碱成分慢慢炖成锅内的柔韧性，盖子略微ajar，可以蒸发和浓度的口味。在烹饪的一半将勺子换成汤匙，这有助于炖煮煮饭。
   
5. There should be ample sauce at the end of cooking, so check on the tagine from time to time; add a few tablespoons of water if it seems to be drying out.
   
6. 如果在肉类和蔬菜是叉子味时，酱汁是水的或稀薄的，请卸下盖子并小火煮，直到它变稠。如果太厚，请搅拌更多的水。请记住，Tagine成分继续吸收酱汁，因此任何长时间的休息时间都会导致酱汁较少，但同样不那么美味的Tagine。

TAGINE 101

购买

• Tagines are available in a variety of materials, from traditional terra-cotta clay to modern glazed ceramic and cast iron.
  
• 陶器的陶器被釉面和无玻璃。后者给食物带来了更高的味道，随着时间的流逝而变暗。如果您打算定期用Tagine烹饪，它们是理想的选择。釉面的塔吉因（Tagines）最适合Tagine新手或不经常与他们一起烹饪的人，因为它们可以储存更长的时间而无需任何气味。

Seasoning

• 在第一次使用传统的陶器塔氨酸之前，您可能需要调味它以加强塔金（Tagine），如果不釉面，请去除原始的粘土味。遵循制造商的说明。

烹饪

• 陶器标记不应在高于中等的热量上使用，以避免灼热或损坏，一些制造商仅要求低火。如果是这样，这里的食谱将需要更长的时间。均匀分布热的金属扩散器可用于延长Tagine的寿命。
• Do not subject earthenware tagines to sudden changes in temperature.
  
• 如果使用小裂缝，它们将不会影响Tagine的表现。深层裂缝意味着是时候进行新的塔金了。

替代品

• 您可以使用重型荷兰烤箱或宽阔的煎锅，带盖子而不是tagine。保持盖子略微ajar。只要食物缓慢而轻轻烹饪，结果就会相似。

Cleaning and Storing

• 在温暖的肥皂水中洗手之前，让塔金完全冷却。冲洗，用软布干燥，如果陶器，请用橄榄油在凉爽干燥的地方用橄榄油刷。