Tagine cooking

I bought Judd a tagine for our wedding anniversary in March. It was something he had suggested we add to our Williams-Sonoma registry before we got married, but that I had opposed given the size of our kitchen and how infrequently I thought we'd use it.  Three years later, he was very excited to unwrap a tagine of his very own, along with cookbook I'd found to accompany it: "Tagines & Couscous: Delicious recipes for Moroccan one-pot cooking."

In case you are not familiar with them, tagines are shallow, round cooking vessels with a conical lid designed to lock in moisture. They are commonly used in Moroccan cooking, which The word tagine is also used to describe the stew cooked inside the tagine. I bought Judd's at Sur la Table since the Williams-Sonoma at the Time Warner Center no longer carries them (I suspect other shoppers had also wondered how practical they were . . .). Ours is made by Le Creuset and has a cast iron bottom, which makes it appropriate for stovetop or oven cooking, and a glazed earthenware lid. (I actually have a feeling that a Le Creuset dutch oven might work nearly as well as a a tagine for cooking tagine recipes.)

Judd recently took a stab at a vegetarian tagine with carrots and chickpeas. The list of ingredients is quite lengthy, but most of them are probably already in your spice rack, with the exception of rosewater. The tagine turned out really delicious and I'm sharing the recipe with you, which I think you might be able to pull off, with or without an actual tagine.

spicy carrot and chickpea tagine with turmeric and cilantro

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1-2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon honey
4 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
2 14-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1.5 tablespoons rosewater
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves

1. Heat the oil in tagine over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute, stirring until soft. Add turmeric, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, black pepper, honey, and carrots. Pour in enough water to cover the base of the tagine and cover. Cook gently over low heat for 10-15 minutes.

2. Add chickpeas. Check to make sure there is enough liquid left in the tagine, adding a little more water if necessary.  Cover and continue to cook over low heat for another 5-10 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

3. Add the rosewater and cilantro and season with salt.  Serve with crusty bread and/or couscous, a dollop of thick yogurt (option) and lemon wedges (also optional).