Recently my friend Kristen posted pictures on Facebook from our freshman year in university. It was great and hilarious to look back ten years and see how young and skinny we all were. It made me a bit nostalgic for the places we used to go, things we used to do, and foods we used to eat.

On the weekends my friends and I would often go to Cornerstone to eat chicken wings and go dancing. At the end of then night when the bars closed we’d find a place for a late night snack. Most of the places where I used to go are now closed, which makes me feel old. But anyway, sometimes we want to Wawa for sandwiches. Sometimes Ratsies for pizza, where once a chair started to collapse under me and my friend Nav caught me in midair. And sometimes we went to Danny’s for crab rangoons.I almost never went to Danny’s because it was out of the way from my walk home, but my friend Janina liked to go there so sometimes I went. She introduced me to crab rangoons, and as a Marylander in Maryland, I was hooked. Crunchy, gooey, cheesy, and stuffed with crab – it’s the perfect late night food.

Now, the first time I tried to make this recipe I decided to fashion my own deep fryer. I took a large pot and put a lot of vegetable oil in it. For deep frying, you have got to use vegetable or peanut oil because it has a high smoke point, which means it can get really hot and won’t easily burn. So, I turned the heat on high (which I shouldn’t have done) and I made my first rangoons and dropped them in the oil. They cooked in an instant and looked delicious.

But then, they started to smoke, and the oil started to smoke, and my entire flat filled with smoke. Miraculously, the alarm didn’t go off. I hurried to turn on the oven fan, open the windows, open the door, and I frantically waved a tea towel in the air to try to dissipate the smoke. I made about four rangoons that way and then decided I’d try to bake the rest. Although that works, it doesn’t give you the brown, bubbly, and crispy exterior I was hoping for.

So the third time was the charm. I used a pan with just about a 1/4 inch of oil which I heated on medium, and then I flipped them halfway through cooking. This worked perfectly. Crispy, creamy, gooey rangoons and no smoke inhalation.

Adapted from Food.com

Messy level: Not too messy, but you can see from my prep picture above I had a lot going on. This is fairly straightforward to make, but frying can get oil everywhere. Just be careful, try to be organized, and you shouldn’t make too big of a mess.

Crab Rangoon

 

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Serves: 18

Ingredients

• 6 oz crab meat
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• wonton wrappers
• water
• vegetable oil
• soy sauce, for dipping

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the crab meat, cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, spring onions and garlic.
2. Taste and add salt and pepper. Taste again and adjust to suit your preferences.
3. Put a little bit of water into a small bowl or cup
4. Put 1½- 2 teaspoons of crab mixture in the middle of a wonton wrapper
5. Dip your finger in the pot of water. Wet two adjoining sides of the wonton (an L shape).
6. Fold the wonton over and press the dry side onto the wet. You will have made a triangle. Squish the crab insides just a bit so you won't have empty air pockets once cooked. Don't squish too much or the wrapper will burst and the crab will ooze out.
7. On medium to medium-high heat, heat ¼ inch of vegetable oil in a large pan. Heat until very hot. Flick a little water onto the oil. If it pops, then the oil is hot enough.
8. In batches, add the rangoons to the hot oil. Cook on each side for 1-3 minutes. They are done when each side is golden brown, slightly puffed, and has some air bubbles.
9. Remove from the oil and dab with a paper towel to remove any excess oil.
10. Serve with a side of soy sauce for dipping.

3.2.2925

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Almost every time I go to a book store, I look at Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I hold it in my hand and I think about buying it. Julia Child is an iconic American cook and it feels like this book is one of those books you’re supposed to have if you are a cooking enthusiast. But, I never buy it. I never buy the book because usually it’s a gigantic hardcover and costs a ton of money and will be frustrating to lug home. However, that day in the book store they had both volumes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a slim paperback form. The book was inexpensive, the size of  novel, and would easily fit into my purse.

I had a quick internal debate with myself. It went something like this: This is a good deal, I should buy it. Should I buy it? No, I have enough cookbooks. But this is not just any cookbook. It’s Julia Child’s cookbook. And it’s so small and a good price. Should I get both volumes? No, then I’ll definitely have too many and both won’t qualify as an impulse buy. I’ll get just the one. What if it’s written with European measurements since I’m buying it in London? Whew, no it’s not. Ok I’ll get it. Should I check on Amazon to see if I get a better deal? No, if I do that I’ll definitely talk myself out of this. Ok, let’s buy it.

Does all of that back and forth make me sound neurotic? Maybe. But, now I had the book and it was time to start cooking. No surprise, the book is really nice. The tone is straightforward but helpful and encouraging in the notes and directions. There are tables for weight and temperature conversions, helpful illustrations, and information on what types of tools to use.

I decided to start with beef bourguignon, in part because it sounds delicious, and in part because in the movie Julie and Julia it looks so decadent. Honestly though, I have no idea how Julie Powell ever cooked through this book because some of these recipes take a really long time! Like this one, it takes all day. You should eat lunch while making this, and not just have an ice cream cone. If you just have an ice cream cone you’ll be ravenous by the time this is done. I may or may not have done that. But I’m an adult, I can have ice cream for breakfast if I want to.

Truly, this stew is a lazy Sunday kind of meal because it takes over three hours to prepare. In the end it’s worth it, because all that time creates a complex and layered broth that is so lovely. The meat becomes tender, the onions soft and herbal in flavor, and the mushrooms (which I usually hate) have a nice silky texture.

Recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle. Also, a warning, this recipe has two mini-recipes within the larger recipe.

Messy level: I found this one hard to quantify. You can definitely reuse pots and pans in this recipe. And, while the stew is in the oven for 3 hours, there is plenty of time for  leisurely clean up. However, even though my kitchen didn’t look like a disaster at the end of cooking, I know I used a lot of knives, cutting boards, pots, pans, and general utensils. Even just writing out the instructions, I was exhausted by the amount of dishes needed. I just had to give this four spoons.

Beef Bourguignon

 

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Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 6 oz streaky bacon (you can also buy this pre-cut into lardons)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pounds lean stew beef, cut in 2 inch cubes
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 oz flour (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1¼ pints (about 3 cups), red wine (I used Chianti)
• ¾ pint (slightly less than 2 cups), beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled

brown-braised onions

• 18 small onions (about 1" long)
• 1 oz butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ¼ pint (slightly more than ½ cup) beef stock or dry wine (red or white, I used white)
• salt and pepper
• 4 parsley sprigs
• ½ bay leaf
• ¼ teaspoon thyme

sauteed mushrooms

• 2 oz butter
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, cut in quarters

Instructions

1. Cut bacon into lardons (sticks ¼x1½" long)
2. Bring a pot of water to a simmer. Add the bacon to the simmering water and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and dry.
3. Preheat oven to 450/230°.
4. In a saucepan, saute the bacon in oil over moderate heat for 2-3 minutes. This is to brown them slightly.
5. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.
6. Make sure the fat is still hot, then add the beef a few pieces at a time. Cook until browned on all sides.
7. Remove beef from fat and put with the bacon.
8. In the same fat, now cook the vegetables until browned.
9. Put the bacon, beef, and vegetables in a large casserole dish. Season with the salt and pepper, then mix.
10. Now sprinkle with the flour and mix again to lightly coat everything in flour.
11. Place casserole in the oven for 4 minutes.
12. Remove from oven, mix the meat again. Return to the oven for 4 more minutes.
13. Remove casserole from the oven, and turn it down to 325/160°.
14. Stir in the wine. Then add enough beef stock so the meat is just covered.
15. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs.
16. Cover the casserole, and place in the oven.
17. Cook for 3-4 hours. The meat is done when a fork can easily piece it.
18. While the beef is cooking, first prepare the brown-braised onions. Peel the onions (you can do this straight away or by putting them into boiling water for 10 seconds, then it's easier)
19. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and olive oil. Heat until the fat is bubbling a bit.
20. Add the onions and saute over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Roll the onions around so they brown as evenly as possible.
21. Then, pour in the liquid (stock or wine). Add the herbs (parsley, thyme, and bay leaf) to the liquid.
22. Cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Simmer for 40-50 minutes. The onions are done when they are tender but aren't mushy, and the liquid has evaporated.
23. Next start on the sautéed mushrooms. Clean out the frying pan you used for the onions. Heat up the butter and oil over high heat. Once the butter is done foaming, add the mushrooms.
24. Toss the mushrooms for about 8 minutes, until the mushrooms are starting to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
25. Ok your meat is finally done! Using a sieve, or a slotted spoon, separate the meat and vegetables from the broth.
26. Put the broth in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Skim off the fat. Heat the broth until it lightly coats the back of a spoon.
27. Plate the beef and vegetables. Pour the broth over meat. Eat!

3.2.2807

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Basically, Ryan’s job gave him a promotion and a transfer to their London office. Exciting right?! I’ll be honest, I’ve felt a ton of emotions about all of this. Excitement, over living in a new city and seeing new sights! Fear, of starting somewhere new. Stress, over all the logistics of moving. Proud, of Ryan’s great accomplishment. Sadness, over leaving my wonderful job and moving away from family and friends. And happiness, that Ryan and I are able to take on this wonderful adventure and live abroad, which is something we have both dreamed about.

It’s been a few weeks since we made the decision and started announcing it to the people closest to us, and now my top emotion is definitely excitement. There’s tons to do as we prepare for our move, but I can’t wait for the museums, experiencing a new culture, and traveling. I have always wanted to see the Globe Theater. I’ve been dying to return to Rome. And now I can do those things more easily. But also, I can’t wait to have new food adventures.

To start the food adventures, I ran out and bought a British cookbook as soon as we officially decided we were going. Barnes and Noble only had one British cookbook, but it’s ok because it was the one I wanted. I bought Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain. This book is gorgeous! Full color pictures, an image of the food for each recipe, and great pictures of places, restaurants, and people from all over Great Britain. However, the book showed me that I need to learn some British jargon because I’m not totally sure what a “knob of butter” equals or how exactly to know if I’ve made “squiffs and quiffs” with the mashed potato topping.

Truly, I don’t know anything about British food, so I decided to start with the only dish I slightly knew about: shepherd’s pie. The recipe is so flavorful, aromatic, and satisfying. It’s the kind of food that as you eat it, the pace of the world seems to slow down, and staying snuggled up in the apartment flat (I need to practice practise my British lingo) feels like the best thing ever.

I’ll be honest though, the first time I made this, it came out soupy. It tasted delicious, but it was all wrong in texture. The problem was, I followed too closely to the recipe and didn’t listen to my intuition. That might sound counter intuitive, because shouldn’t the recipe lead me in the right direction? Yes, sometimes. But pots, pans, ingredients, and heat levels are different across kitchens and so sometimes the timing in a recipe isn’t what works best for you. For example, the recipe said that a liquid would thicken in a few minutes. It wasn’t thickening, but I moved on anyway, and that’s how I had soupy shepherd’s pie. The next time I made it, I really waited for it to thicken even though it took way longer than a few minutes. My end result was much better because I trusted my eye and watched what was happening in the pan.

So for this recipe, don’t worry too much about times and instead be patient and trust what you see and feel. It will be worth it and you’ll end with something delicious. Most importantly though, if you have any recommendations or advice about London please leave it in the comments!

This recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain

Ingredients:

2 yellow onions

2 cups chopped carrots

1 tbsp olive oil

3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided

sea salt & white pepper

leaves from 8 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

1 lb ground beef (or veal or lamb)

2 tbsp all-purpose flour, divided

zest from 1 lemon

1 cube of chicken stock

1/3 cup of beer (preferably something English!)

2 pounds russet potatoes (I’ve also done this successfully with waxy yellow potatoes)

1 cup of milk

1/2 white mushrooms, thinly sliced

3/4 cup light cream

1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Chop the onions and carrots into small, bite sized pieces, about 1/3 inch.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large sauce pan. Add the onions and carrots. Season with some salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the onions have softened a bit.

3. Add the flour. This will soak up some of the excess liquid. Then add the ground meat, lemon zest, and stock cube. Stir everything until it is all well mixed. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat.

4. Once the meat starts to brown and is sizzling, add the beer. Then, add just enough water so that the meat is 1/2 covered by liquid.

5. Bring everything to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer with the lid askew for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

6. While the meat is cooking, peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold salted water. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork (this can take anywhere between 15-30 minutes).

7. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain the water. Let them sit an steam for a minute or two. Then, mash the potatoes. Add in the remaining butter and slowly add the milk. Mash until you have nice fluffy potatoes.

8. When the meat has been cooking for 30 minutes, heat the oven to 350°.

9. When the meat has been cooking for about 1 hour, add in the sliced mushrooms. Then add the cream. Turn up the heat a bit and bring everything to a boil. Allow to thicken on it’s own for a few minutes

10. Slowly sprinkle in the remaining tablespoon of flour. You might not need the whole thing, but stir in the flour until the meat mixture has thickened. You want the meat to be like it’s in a thick gravy and when you pull a spoon through the pan, it takes a little bit liquid to fill in the spoon’s path.

11. Transfer the meat to an oven safe casserole pan. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top.

12. Spoon the mashed potatoes in an even layer over the meat. Make it pretty or make it messy, whatever look you like. Or try to make a Union Jack, like I did.

13. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until it’s a bit golden on top.

14. Spoon out the finished pie into a bowl or plate.

Messy level: This recipe has a lot of steps, ingredients, and dishes. It’s not hard work, but it does take a bunch of work, so I’m giving it 4 stars. This is the kind of meal you make on a leisurely weekend day because it takes a long time and there’s a lot of clean up. Transferring things between pots, pans, strainers, and casseroles there is lots of opportunity for spills, splashes, and messes. It’s a good recipe, but it’s not clean.

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Now, back to cooking. For today’s post, I’m offering a recipe that is perfect for these cold days we’ve been having here in the DC area. This recipe is hearty, filling, and spicy. I guarantee this dish will warm you up. Now, I’ve told you about my tagine before but just in case you don’t remember, it’s a Moroccan earthenware slow cooker. As a kitchen appliance, it’s so pretty. It’s so pretty, I wasn’t sure I’d ever use it. And at first, I was having a hard time with the tagine, that is until my mom and I came across the cookbook Tagines & Couscous.

My mom and I were shopping at a Lecruest outlet store when I spotted the book. The lady who worked in the shop raved about it! She said it was so user friendly and they had made plenty of amazing dishes for their classes and taste tests. We were sold. Literally. Both us got a copy. Now I make this recipe (well, below is my adaptation of it) all the time. Honestly, I make this recipe almost every other week.

I have found some of the ingredients in the book hard to find (like rose water), but, when I really can’t find them, I’ve powered through with the recipe and it has still come out delicious. Also, please don’t be afraid of how many spices this recipe calls for. It’s an investment at first, but I’ve found them to be worthwhile and useful for other recipes. Additionally, If you don’t have a tagine, try this out with a dutch oven.

Finally, I heartily suggest making couscous as a side. You can find couscous in the same aisle as other grains. It’s such a great complement to this dish because it’s buttery and subtle and helps to balance the spiciness of the dish. And believe me, this dish does have some kick.

Ingredients: 

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp turmeric

1-2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp honey

2 cups carrots, cut diagonally into 2″ pieces

1 lb lean beef, cut into cubes (I use what Trader Joe’s packages as stew meat)

1 14oz cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained (you can use up to 2 cans if you love chickpeas)

sea salt

chopped cilantro (optional, for garnish)

Directions:

1. If using a tagine, put the your heat diffuser over the burner. Put the bottom of the tagine on top. Pour in the oil and heat over medium-high until warm.

2. Add the onion and garlic. Saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the turmeric, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, and honey. Stir to coat the onions and garlic. Let the spices toast a bit, just for 1 minute.

4. Add the carrots. Saute for 4-5 minutes. Make sure they get coated with the spices.

5. Stir in the beef. Saute for about 3 minutes. Make sure you get the beef coated and it has started to brown. It’s ok if it’s 50% brown and 50% pink.

I’m sorry this picture is a little blurry, but I wanted you to see you don’t have to completely cook the meat.

6. Pour in enough water so everything is 50% covered. Bring the water to a boil. Place the cover on the tagine, and turn the heat to low.

7. Let everything simmer in the tagine for 40 minutes.

8. Add the drained chickpeas to the tagine. Stir everything together so the chickpeas also get some seasoning. Cook for 15-20 minutes.

9. Turn off the heat. Make sure the vegetables are tender and the meat is cooked through. You should have a nice stew-like meal swimming in some spicy broth. Season with salt, if desired. Garnish with cilantro, if you’re  using it. Serve over a bed of couscous.

Messy Level: I give this one three spoons because it is undercover messy. Yes, everything is in one pot and that makes it pretty clean. But turmeric is a sneaky nemesis! It makes the liquid yellow and everything that liquid touches will be dyed yellow. If you have cheap counter tops, like I do, you might end up with some stains so please be careful!

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The first recipe I watched was for soup au pistou and I knew it was the perfect winter soup. Yes, it calls for green beans and basil so technically it might be more of a spring soup, but it’s everything I want right now. It’s cold, it’s windy, and sometimes dreary and I want soup. This soup is hearty without being heavy, full of vegetables, and the pistou (kind of like a pesto) gives the broth a robust flavor.

Now, this recipe is adapted from Julia Child’s for a few reasons. First, she used just water in her broth. I used a mix of water and chicken broth because I had an open container of broth in the fridge that had to be used. You could definitely use all water, more chicken broth, or even vegetable broth. Second, Julia calls for either leeks or onions and I used a mix of both. The reason being my leeks didn’t go as far as I thought they would.

The third adaptation is that Julia has a beautiful gilded soup tureen and I do not. Does anyone have a soup tureen anymore? Julia makes the pistou, then puts it in the soup tureen, and then slowly mixes in the soup from her pot. It looked beautiful, but… really? Since I don’t have a soup tureen do I really need to use two pots? I don’t think so, and I’ve come up with my own solution for those of us lacking in a soup tureen. If you have a soup tureen, I’d love to know it. Send me a picture or write in the comments below!

Ingredients:

3 quarts liquid (water, chicken broth, or vegetable broth)

2 cups diced waxy potatoes (I used Yukon gold)

2 cups diced carrots

2 cups diced leeks, or onions, or a combination of the two

1 tbsp salt

1 15oz can of white navy beans, drained

1/3 cup broken spaghetti (Julia used orzo, I just smashed up some pasta)

2 cups green beans, cut to 1″ length

ground black pepper

Pistou:

4 cloves crushed garlic (I just minced 4 cloves of garlic then smushed them a bit)

4 tbsp tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup olive oil (or a little more or less to your liking. Julia Child said between 1/4-1/2 cup)

Directions:

Prep step: Chop all your vegetables!

1. Bring liquid, potatoes, carrots, leeks/onions, and salt to a boil in a large pot (6 quart pot would be best).

2. Once it’s come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

3. Add beans and spaghetti. Let them cook for about 10 minutes.

4. Right after you’ve added the beans and spaghetti, make the pistou. Place the garlic, tomato paste, basil, and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon or pestle and mash up the ingredients until you form a lumpy paste. Then, slowly, about a teaspoon at a time, mix in the olive oil. Add olive oil until you have something the consistency of pesto. I used about a 1/3 of a cup in total oil. Set aside until soup is finished.

5.  Add the green beans. Cook for 5-10 minutes. You want them to be a bit crunchy, but cooked through. Basically, stay away from mushy green beans.

6. When soup is done, add 1-2 cups of soup to your pistou. Whisk the soup and pistou until smooth. Then, gently pour the pistou soup into the rest of the soup post. Mix that together until the broth is a beautiful red-orange color throughout.

7. Serve and enjoy!

Messy level: Honestly, for the number of ingredients, I’m surprised to give this recipe 1 spoon. There is so little mess! All I had to do was chop, heat, and mix. You’ll end up with very few dishes and almost no splatter. This recipe is a winner!

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One of my new kitchen gadgets is the inspiration for this blog post. At my bridal shower a family friend gave me a Moroccan tagine. When I opened it I was impressed by how beautiful it was, but I had no idea how to use it! The tagine is a ceramic cooking vessel made up of two parts. The bottom is like a dish, and the top is a cone shaped lid. There is a small hole at the top of the cone to let out the heat and steam.

The same family friend followed up at the wedding by giving us Mourad Lahlou’s book New Moroccan. I read through the book and got some tips on how to use the tagine, and I made a couple of stew-like meals and they came out pretty well. Pretty well – but not great. Every time Ryan and I would have a couple of ideas about how we could make it better the next time. I was feeling mildly discouraged, but then on William-Sonoma’s website I found a video of Mourad cooking the Chicken Legs with Preserved Lemons in a tagine! The recipe is also in his book, and so armed with all of these resources I felt sure I could finally use the tagine well. If you don’t have a tagine, don’t despair! If you have a dutch oven or some other ceramic cooking vessel that can go on the stove and in the oven, you can do this recipe!

Before getting to the recipe, I wanted to talk about the seasonings. First, I was skeptical about preserved lemons. Mourad’s book talks about how important preserved lemons are to Moroccan cooking and he gives details instructions on how to make them, but I was less than convinced I’d do it myself. But, Williams-Sonoma, always my favorite dream cooking and food place sells preserved lemons in the store so it saved me a step! They tasted pretty good in the recipe but straight out of the jar – OH MY! They are so salty, but also tangy from the citrus. It’s a powerful flavor. I was also a little put-off by the amount of spices required for the recipe. I didn’t have a lot of the spices in my cabinet before doing this, and so buying all those spices hurts the wallet a bit – but it is worth it. First, now I actually have the spices and can make it again. But, it also creates an incredible yellow broth that smells just decadent. Expanding my horizons from my usual salt, pepper, and garlic powder was truly worth it!

Anyway, let’s get to the recipe!

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken legs with thighs (use what fits in your tagine, mine only fit 4)

Salt

vegetable oil (Mourad uses duck fat, but I don’t have that kind of thing!)

5 cups thinly sliced yellow onions

2 tbsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground white pepper

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp saffron threads

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

4-6 quarter preserved lemon rind (as many rinds as you have chicken legs)

1/2 cup green olives, pitted and cracked

3-4 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Salt the chicken legs and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour

2. Preheat over to 350° and make sure there will be enough space for the tagine in the oven. You might have to take out all racks except the bottom one.

3. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan at medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add the chicken legs and cook, turning once until the sides are well browned. It should take 3-5 minutes per side. Remove the legs from the pan and set aside.

4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in the tagine on the stove. IMPORTANT NOTE: When using the tagine on the stove be sure to use a difusser! Without the difusser the tagine is likely to crack.

5. Add the onions and saute over medium-high heat. Stir often and cook until they are a nice brown. It should take about 15-17 minutes.

6.  Add the spices and a bit of salt to the onions. Stir for 1 1/2 minutes to toast the spices.

7. Return the chicken legs to the tagine, pour in the stock and bring to a boil.

8. Cover the tagine and put it in the oven. Cook for 40 minutes. When you remove it from the oven, the chicken should be tender and falling off the bone.

9. Remove the legs from the pan.

10. Return the tagine to a burner and simmer for 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce. The soft should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. If you taste the sauce at this point it will have a little bit of a spicy kick to it.

11. Add the lemon rinds and olives if you’re using them.

12. When the rind and olives are hot whisk in the butter 1 tsbp at a time. Taste the sauce after each tbsp of butter has melted. When I made it, I put all 4 tbsps in at once. It made the sauce more creamy and less spicy. It was delicious, but I wish I had let some of the spiciness remain.

13. Serve chicken and place sauce, onions, lemons, and olives over the chicken.

This picture might not look all that impressive, but you can see the lemon rind (top middle of the plate), the sauce, onions, and chicken. The flavor was lovely and the chicken was so tender. We ate it over couscous!

Messy level: Two spoons. The final product looks messy, and moving the chicken can be a bit dangerous, but overall you’re cooking in one vessel.

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