Mediterranean Archives

Flameware Feast: Chicken Tagine with Roasted Veggies and Couscous

July 11, 2021 By Morgan

I love chicken tagine with preserved lemons, green olives, and fresh thyme … but there are days when I don’t have a ton of time. Homemade preserved lemons take a month. Fresh thyme requires gardening (I excel at killing plants). So I have a couple time savers in my back pocket for just these days.

Enter NY Shuk’s Preserved Lemon Paste. It’s a concentrated, pureed jarred version of the homemade delicacy.

Here’s how to get this dinner on the table in record time:

Mix up 1 teaspoon each of dried spices (NY Shuk’s Ras El Hanout, Garlic, Turmeric, dried French Thyme, Black Pepper, & Salt) with a minced shallot and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Clay Coyote Mixing Bowl.
Add mixture to your Clay Coyote Flameware Tagine, turn stovetop burner to medium.
Place chicken thighs in the spice-oil mixture and sear for 5 minute, turn over once lightly browned.
Add 2 tablespoons of the lemon paste and 1 cup of chicken or veggie broth.
Add about 1/2 cup or 20 olives.
Cover tagine and turn heat to low. Set timer for 35 minutes.
While the tagine is simmering, make a 5-minute batch of couscous in your Clay Coyote Medium Sauce Pan.

After 35 minutes, the chicken should be very tender. The broth, spices, and paste will have made a nice thickened sauce. Serve the chicken and olives on a bead of couscous.

We also often feel like this dish needs a little more veggies, so we broiled a medley of broccoli, squash, mushrooms, asparagus, and snap peas in a Flameware Skillet in the oven at 500F for 20 minutes.

Grilled, Greek Chicken aka Deconstructed Kabobs

July 3, 2021 By Morgan

Is it kabobs or kababs? Depends on who you ask, but at our house we say skewers are for suckers. We just throw everything into our Flameware Grill Basket.

IMHO it’s way easier than soaking the sticks, skewering everything, then turning each one 4 times on the grill.

I can see the appeal for ensuring that everyone gets equal meat to veggie ratio … but that’s one of the reasons we love the Grill Basket, I’m more pro-broccoli and he’s more pro-zucchini, so we grill everything together and then divvy up the veggies when we serve the meal. Clean up is also a breeze with our handy 3M scrubbie or the dishwasher (yes, all our pots are dishwasher-friendly).

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On to the dish: Grilled Greek Chicken

Cube up one boneless-skinless chicken breast.
Add marinate to chicken: 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon oregano, and 1 teaspoon thyme. Let sit for 10 minutes (make ahead up to 24 hours and store covered in fridge). We used a Clay Coyote Mixing Bowl with Whisk (known here as a whiskey bowl).
Heat grill to medium-high, put Grill Basket on grill and add the chicken, I spread it out to cook quickly. After 6 minutes shake the basket with a hot pad, or use a spatula or tongs to flip the chicken. Cook for another 4-6 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken cubes, it should break in half and be white all the way through).

Make the Pita Fixings:

We made a batch of tzatziki sauce: 1 container plain Greek Yogurt (5 oz), 1/2 cup fresh cucumber chopped up very small, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon onion, 1 teaspoon mint, 1 teaspoon dill, squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. If you use fresh mince everything. I had a dried blend and it’s still amazing.
Chop up fresh cucumber, tomato, and feta.
Chop up lettuce.
Warm pita (I did it on the grill, but you can use oven, toaster, or even 5 seconds in the microwave).

Assemble and enjoy!

Next up the chicken, one breast serves 2 people

Top with fresh cucumber, tomato, and feta

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Tagine Cooking: Mediterranean Chicken, Mushroom & Creamy Cheesy Polenta

November 10, 2020 By Morgan

Our handmade flameware tagine is perfect for low, slow, simmering on the stovetop.

This weekend we were craving rich Italian flavors, a neighbor to Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea.

First, we sautéed fresh garlic and minced onion in Olive Oil. The we added the blend of sliced mushrooms, we used baby bella and shitake. Once cooked, about 6 minutes we removed the mushroom mix from the tagine bottom. Added a little more olive oil and seared the chicken thighs, moving them a little to make sure they didn’t stick. We set the chicken aside and deglazed the pan with 2 tablespoons of dry sherry and 1/4 cup of veggie broth. Add the chicken and mushrooms back in, and cover over low flame for 45 minutes.

While the tagine bubbles and self-bastes, use a small flameware skillet to make your polenta. We cheated with a log from Trader Joe’s. Break up 1/2 the log with a spoon or whisk, adding milk until you get a good texture. Then put in your desired cheese blend. Our crisper had a half chunk of fontina and some Pecorino Romano, we grated them up and slowly added until fully incorporated. Crack a little pepper and check if any salt is needed. We didn’t think so, the cheese added enough. Simmer on low until the tagine is ready. Serve together, hot. Pair with a rich Italian red and a fire in the hearth. Winter, you’re welcome!

Mushroom Tagine in Handmade Clay Coyote Flameware

Clay Coyote Flameware Tagine with Chicken & Mushrooms

Clay Coyote Flameware Tagine with Mushrooms

Clay Coyote Mushrooms and Chicken Tagine

Clay Coyote Mushrooms and Chicken Tagine over Polenta

Moroccan Cooking with Tagines

September 26, 2017 By Kylie Lawson

The Clay Coyote makes their own line of cookware, the most famous being the flameware line. This includes the ever-so-popular grill basket, the cazuela, the large and small skillets, the medium saucepan, and the tagine. These might all be familiar cookware pieces to you, except maybe the tagine. I’m here to give you a little background on the tagine and how you can benefit from having one in your kitchen.

The Clay Coyote found their inspiration for making tagines from renowned chef and award-winning author of nine cookbooks, Paula Wolfert. She specializes in Mediterranean cuisine, and through her advice, the Clay Coyote began developing a flameware tagine right here in America.

A tagine has Moroccan roots and has two meanings. The first meaning refers to the piece itself. It’s traditionally a clay ceramic piece coming from Northern Africa. The bottom piece is wide and circular, and that’s where the food is held. Then it has a lid that goes on top that seals in the water and condenses it, then drops back into the dish. The lid gives the piece a very unique shape.

The second meaning of tagine is the meal made inside it. tagine refers to a stew like dish that is slowly cooked inside. A benefit from our Clay Coyote Flameware tagine is that because it is made with the flameware clay, it can be put right on the stovetop and cooked at high temperatures for pressure cooking, and then lower temperatures for cooking the rest of the meal all in one dish.

This type of Moroccan cooking was believed to been influenced by the Romans. Romans were fond of ceramic cooking, and brought their ceramics to Africa when they came to rule. Tagines can be used for cooking, serving dishes, or as art pieces. tagines can be made in all shapes and sizes to fit the number of people you will be serving, and can come glazed or unglazed.

Tagines are normally used for cooking meat, seafood, and vegetable dishes. Both carnivores and vegetarians can benefit from using this piece because there are a lot of meat and meat-free recipes out there to make in tagines. The recipes made can either be eaten straight out of the tagine, or traditionally are served over rice or couscous.

CHICKEN TAGINE
Making a tagine with chicken is very common. This recipe is very simple for those who have never tried cooking in a tagine or tried Moroccan food. You can add vegetables in with it such as carrots, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and more. A variety of spices can be used, but this recipe calls for turmeric. Slowly cook this recipe for 40 minutes and you’ll have your own taste of Morocco right in your own home.

VEGETARIAN TAGINE
If you are vegetarian, don’t fret! We’ve got just the recipe for you. This recipe calls for a variety of great vegetables like onions, pumpkin, tomatoes, and much more. Its filled with spices to give extra flavor, and would be great served over rice or couscous. The total cook time is just under an hour and there will be plenty to share or keep as leftovers for lunch or dinner.

If that sounded delicious to you, you can get your own tagine at the Clay Coyote.

Located in Hutchinson, MN, were open every day of the week, Monday-Saturday 10-5pm and Sunday noon-4pm. The tagines come in four different glazes and come with a recipe for you to try. Come get your tagine today and start cooking!

Soupe au Pistou aka Summer in a Pot

January 10, 2014 By Valerie

One of my favorite things about Winter is warming my kitchen by making soups and stews in my Dutch Oven. I almost forgot about the Polar Vortex while I slurped this steamy, hearty, summer in your mouth creation.