Moroccan Cuisine: a Recipe for Tagine with Quince

by Layla Dahamou

Morocco World News

Taroudant, September 8, 2012

Tagine is named after the special earthenware pot in which it is cooked. For most Moroccans their daily principle lunch meal is usually Tagine eaten with homemade bread. They use various and different vegetables each time, but meat is the essential ingredient. It may taste and look distinctive depending on the ingredients and the way it is prepared even though the process remains nearly the same. Today’s Tagine is quince and meat based. Fresh quinces are not available during the whole four seasons in Morocco, for this reason we are going to exploit the chance to present you a delicious Tagine with honeyed fresh quince. Enjoy it!

Ingredients:

1Kg of beef or lamb
2 chopped onion
1 Small quarter cup of oil
1tsp Salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

½ tsp ginger
½ tsp turmeric
Few saffron stamens, soaked in cold water
4 minced cloves of garlic

Some water

For honeyed quince:

500 g quince

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ tsp butter

Preparation:

Place the meat with all these spices and oil in the tagine, mix them well and let it be soaked for few minutes before cooking.
Place the tagine on the stove and set the fire to a low degree.
When it starts cooking add chopped onions, cover the tagine again and heat for 10 minutes. Stir frequently.
Add water and let the tagine cook for an hour and watch it regularly in case it should need some water.
Clean the quinces very well and cut them lengthwise into four then take off the seeds.
Put the slices of quince in a pot with a pinch of salt and boil for 15 minutes, then add sugar, cinnamon and butter and let cook on a medium heat with stirring frequently till the slices of quince are completely honeyed.
Place the honeyed quince above meat and serve hot with bread!

Bon Appetit!