My first...tagine

My in-laws gave me a lovely tagine, made in Morocco, for Christmas. Finally got around to using it this past weekend.

And of course, the best place to start would be by making something from Paula Wolfert.

From her newest book, The Food of Morocco, the Potato Tagine with Olives & Harissa.

Ok, we skipped the olives. And kind of forgot to add the harissa by the time we finally got around to eating. But it was really good without either of those things!

Grated red onion & some spices are cooked in olive oil (in a pot) until the onions start to 'melt'. Potatoes, a little tomato sauce, a quarter of a lemon & saffron water get cooked until tender.

The weird thing about this dish is that it's supposed to be reheated. So, you remove the potatoes to the tagine base, cook down the remaining liquid until thickened, pour over the potatoes, add some preserved lemon & put into a cold oven, turn it on & heat until warm.

We served this with a smoked almond couscous & some chicken, but honestly? Could have been a meal all by itself.