Tagine Time
The essence and core of our Consciously Connected Travel tribe is shaking down global and social barriers by travelling with purpose. As we know this can take many forms and be executed in a number of different ways, but one of the main ways we love to discover a destination consciously is to dive into their cuisine and understand the history of it, the methods of assembling it, and the significance it has to the people in that space.
We have been in our sleepy seaside sanctuary of Essaouira for some time now, and in that time we have done our vast research through tasting, making and discovering the best dishes in town.
Now if you have any knowledge of Morocco then you probably are familiar with the countries unqiue cities like the madness of Marrakech, the blue city of Chefchaouen, the old city of Fez, and maybe you have even heard of our little windy city Essaouira. However, one thing you probably aren’t familiar with is how to cook an authentic Moroccan meal right at home for all your loved ones. We don’t blame you, why would you know how to do that if it’s never even come up in your consciousness?
Well luckily for you, we decided to roll up our sleeves and do a little experimenting in our tiny kitchen with a little dish called Tagine. Traditionally it can be made with either chicken, fish, or meat but we are going to use chicken since we’re not all that confident in our cooking skills.
First we took a stroll down our souk to visit our vegetable man and grabbed a few carrots, zuchini, onions, potatoes, peas, parsley, and went to the butcher to get the protein. After the food comes the spices. Every spice shop has their own special “Poulet Tagine” blend, in fact they have a special seasoning depending on what type of tagine you want to make. Typically it’s a mix of garlic, saffron, ginger, paprika, cumin and turmeric.
Next we cut all the veg and lay the chicken down first in the tagine pot (with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.) Add half the spice blend and then place potatoes down first around the chicken followed by the rest of the vegetables on top adding the rest of the spices. Once you’ve put it all in the pot, let that bad boy simmer on medium low for about an hour, repeatedly checking on it to add a little water. (Hint: stick a spoon in between the lid to cook the vegetables faster, just make sure you can always see a liquid base at the bottom or the whole thing will burn!)After about an hour or so check the chicken to make sure it’s cooked, grab some hobs (bread) and warm your heart over soul feeding food surrounded by your loved ones!
You can always make a Moroccan mint tea after to help you digest all of that goodness!