Feeling peckish?

It generally takes us Bears a while to get round to things. It's been two years since we were in Morocco, but we came back from there resolved to buy ourselves a tagine and have a go at some of those Moroccan dishes.

Well, we finally bought ourselves one for Christmas (I know, I know; we're in the second half of the year now, but I told you these blogs won't be current for a while), and once the warm days of summer were over we gave it a try. It cooks very slowly and because if its shape it refluxes moisture back into the dish. The recipes involve several steps: browning the meat in the tagine, removing it, preparing vegetables in it, then re-assembling for a long slow cook, with more things added along the way. But the results were excellent.

Australian tagine (from Myer), but Tunisian rug.

Interestingly, and unlike curries and stews, the dishes didn't seem to improve with keeping. Our first two were both chicken dishes, one with almonds and prunes, the other with quinces, which we have in the garden. Spices required, of course; we brought saffron back from Morocco, but there is a well-stocked shop in one of the smaller souks in Hobart where we can get everything else we need.

Chicken and quince.

Chicken, prunes and almonds.

The Very Observant will note that both dishes are about to be consumed in the front room, beside the fire and in front of the telly. We are not ashamed.