02 December 2016

How to make — and cook with — the tajine spice blend

I found a post on Epicurious this morning that explains how you can make your own version of the North African spice blend called ras el hanout. Here's a link. The ingredients are all standard spices you can find nearly anywhere: cumin, ground ginger, salt, black pepper, cinnamon, ground coriander seeds, cayenne pepper, ground allspice, and ground cloves. You can customize the list and the blend as you see fit.


For the lamb and pumpkin tajine I made recently, the first step was to "marinate" the chunks of lamb in the spices. (By the way, I noticed a jar of ras el hanout among the spices at our local SuperU store the other day.) Use the spices as a dry rub on the meat before you brown it in olive oil in a hot frying pan or wok.


Then take the meat out of the pan, set it aside, and sauté some sliced onions and garlic in the same pan, along with a handful of raisins, in a little more oil as needed. When the onions have softened, put the meat back into the pan (or transfer everything to a tajine or other oven-proof dish). Add a cup or two of water or broth — just enough to barely cover the meat — and put the dish in a slow oven (160ºC or 325ºF) for an hour.


All that's left to do, after the pumpkin is glazed and the meat is cooked, is to put the pumpkin on top of the meat, put the lid back on, and let it all cook slowly for 15 or 20 more minutes. Stir it only gently so that you don't mush up the pumpkin too much.


This kind of recipe is infinitely adaptable. Use chunks of chicken or turkey or even veal instead of lamb. Soak some prunes or dried apricots in water while the meat is cooking and put them in the tajine in the place of the glazed pumpkin. (Turkey, duck, or veal will work very well with prunes.) Vary the spice blend. Add as much cayenne or other hot pepper as you like. Serve the tajine with couscous grain, rice, or millet.

This was the third in an uninterrupted series on the lamb and pumpkin tajine.

9 comments:

  1. Ducros do a ras al hanout which is ubiquitous. I'd be very surprised to find a supermarket here that didn't stock it. Auchan (and probably the others) stock a bulk pack of it too. I've got a cannister of it that came packaged in a cellophane wrapper, c350g size, Samia brand.

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    1. Years ago I bought big bags of ras el hanout at Paris Store so I haven't looked for it for years. I don't know why I was slightly surprised to see a little jar of it at SuperU. I also just found another big sealed bag of ras el hanout in our cold pantry downstairs.

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    2. So everything has to have a dose of ras el hanout now for months :-) A bit like my Asian spices and salt mix that I am busy putting on everything because I've got so much of it!

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    3. No, not everything. The unopened bag of ras el hanout I found in the cellar has probably been there for 7 or 8 years! And I haven't yet finished the jar of the stuff that I have in the kitchen.

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  2. We get ours from LIDL, Terry Fruits and SooperYou.
    Pauline uses a tablespoon of it in her pumpkin soups....
    which we eat quite regularly...
    so your recipe link above could prove very useful!

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    1. In the U.S., people buy a spice blend called pumpkin pie spice. I think it is very similar to ras el hanout. I've never bought spices at LIDL, I guess.

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  3. Is there no turmeric in the ras el hanout? Somehow, I assumed there would be.
    That all looks super-delicious.

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  4. Yes, there is turmeric in the commercially prepared ras el hanout spice blend that I have and use. Good catch. I hadn't noticed that it was missing from the make-your-own blend I linked to. Another spice I like to add is ground fenugrec, for its good flavor.

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  5. Perhaps it would be good to add some tumeric to the pumpkin pie spice that I have...

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