Lauren: So, as it turns out, we were a little more tired than expected on Monday after Sunday's Warrior Dash (which was awesome, by the way), and decided to eat some leftover ragout my father had sent us home with from his self-catered Father's Day dinner. He also sent us home with a present - a tajine.
Dave: To put the tajine through its paces, we decided to make a modification of a super easy curry recipe we've developed (because we are lazy and like curry). The tajine is a traditional Moroccan cooking vessel with a tall domed cover, so that when liquid evaporates from your food it condenses and self-marinates. To take advantage of these features we used traditional Moroccan spices in place of curry powder and used potatoes as the basis for the curry, to replicate the tough cuts of meat the tajine is so good at tenderizing. I know that getting potatoes good and soft isn't nearly as difficult a task as tenderizing mutton, but until Morningstar Farms makes a mutton substitute, it's what we've got.
Lauren: We also added paneer cubes to the mix - again, more common in South Asian cuisine than Moroccan, but we had half a bag of it in the freezer (and it's delicious).
Incidentally, tajine is the name for both the cooking vessel as well as the dishes made in it. Traditional tajine also tends to have more fruits and nuts than ours had, so this might be fun to do differently in the fall with root vegetables, dates and nuts.
Dave: Absolutely! It's a great vessel for all sorts of long-cooking foods.
I want to give a shout out to The Spice House (www.thespicehouse.com 1941 Central St. Evanston). We used their Moroccan Spice Mix and their Chili Powder in this recipe. They have some of the best and freshest spices in the Chicagoland area and their staff is always so pleasant and helpful.
Tajine:
1/2 cup Soy Milk
4 Red Potatoes (Diced)
2 Roma Tomatoes (Seeded and diced)
1/2 Red Onion (Peeled and, you guessed it, diced)
1 Cup frozen peas (We used Trader Joe's Brand)
1 Cup frozen paneer cubes
4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tsps Chili Powder http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/mild-medium-or-hot-chili-powder
Sauce:
1 cup Greek yogurt
1-2 Tbsp soy milk
1 1/2 Tbsp Moroccan Spice Blend http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/moroccan-spice-mixture
2 dashes ground cloves
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk Greek yogurt and soy milk together (sauce should have a fairly thick consistency). Add in Moroccan spices until fully combined. Mix in cloves and set aside.
Pour soy milk into tajine and set over low heat. Gradually increase the heat to medium (you should never expose your tajine to quick temp changes.) When the milk has boiled, let the tajine cool and hand wash without soap. You can do this at any time the day you are making the recipe.
Heat olive oil in the tajine. Slowly increase the temperature from low to medium. Put the potatoes and red onions into the tajine and stir slowly, ensuring that they are coated in oil. Cover the tajine and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Open the tajine and add peas, chili powder, Moroccan spice blend and paneer. Stir well and cover. Reduce heat slightly and let simmer 10 minutes.
Turn off the burner of the stove and let the tajine sit (covered) 15 minutes.
Slowly add sauce to the vegetable and spice mixture. If the sauce curdles when added, allow more time for the oil to cool.
Stir well and serve immediately with flatbread.
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