A brimming pot of hearty stew is a gift in so many ways during the gray, bone-chilling days of winter. Simmering merrily away on the stove, it warms the kitchen (especially if you fire up the oven and bake a pan of cornbread to serve with it). Its aroma lifts the spirits, encouraging anyone who walks through the front door that they are finally home.
And given that it’s made in a huge pot, it’s an antidote to loneliness. It begs to be shared with your neighbors!
One of my favorite stews is a tagine (pronounced tah-JEEN). North African in origin, the dish gets its name from the unmistakable pot in which it traditionally is prepared. The vessel consists of a wide, shallow cooking pot (usually not more than a couple inches deep) and a tall conical cover. The cover gathers and cools the steam from the cooking ingredients so that it drips back into the dish. This allows cooks in hot, dry climates to cook with as little liquid as possible, yet still produce moist food. But don’t worry if you don’t own a tagine. In my kitchen, I make do with my trusty Dutch oven, which still does a respectable job.
The cooking technique is not unlike any stew you’ve probably made — saute some aromatics, add the meat and/or vegetables, some kind of liquid, then simmer away. It’s the spicing that sets a tagine apart.