In Morocco the word tagine first means an object: a round clay dish with a cone-shaped lid. The shape is not decorative. As it cooks, the steam rises into the cone, condenses and falls back onto the food. Nothing evaporates; everything simmers in its own juice. That is what makes the meat tender and gives the vegetables their concentrated taste.
What goes in
There is no single recipe but dozens. In the south you mostly find:
- Chicken with preserved lemon and olives, scented with ginger, turmeric and saffron.
- Beef or lamb with prunes, sweet and savoury, with toasted almonds and sesame seeds.
- Kefta with egg, minced-meat balls in a tomato sauce with eggs cracked over at the last minute.
- Vegetable tagine, courgettes, carrots, potatoes, peas, onions, which tastes of the season.
How to recognise one
A tagine cooked to order arrives at the table covered. The cone is lifted in front of you and the steam comes out all at once. The meat comes away with a spoon. The sauce is thick, not watery. Bread is the cutlery: you eat tagine with the right hand, pinching a piece of bread to pick up the meat and mop the sauce.
Time
A real tagine takes between an hour and a half and two hours over gentle embers. That is why many restaurants ask you to order ahead. A tagine served in ten minutes has been reheated.
At La Table du Berbère
The Berber tagine is the house dish. It is cooked in clay, to order, in five versions: chicken with vegetables, chicken with lemon, beef with vegetables, kefta with egg, vegetarian. See the menu and order ahead to find it ready.
Choosing one tonight? Our note on which tagine to order in Ouarzazate is the practical companion to this page.
