The tajine, as you already know, is typical of Maghrebi cuisine, and all kinds of preparations are made in it — I mean meat and fish, vegetables and even fruits. The most fascinating thing about this type of vessel is that the cooking will be different depending on how we place the ingredients; for example, what we place at the top will cook with steam, resulting in more juiciness, and the tougher ingredients we always put at the base where the liquid and contact with the fire are.
That is why for today's recipe, conger eel with vegetables, this type of cooking is perfect. With the Le Creuset tajine we will achieve perfectly cooked vegetables and fish cooked with steam. What more could we ask for? Flavor, perhaps? For that today I present chermoula, a fantastic marinade, typical in the preparation of fish dishes from North Africa.
If you like fish dishes, this is the one for you — take note: in less than an hour you have a feast on the table.
Tajine Le Creuset, Pallarès carbon steel kitchen knife with boxwood handle
Ingredients (for 4 people)
- 500 g conger eel, cut into slices
- 1 onion, peeled and sliced
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
- ½ green pepper, julienned
- ½ red pepper, julienned
- 1 tomato, sliced
- 1 large potato, peeled and sliced
- 1 lemon
- 10 black olives with pit
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Bay leaf
For the chermoula:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 pinch saffron
- 1 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- We begin by preparing the chermoula; in a bowl we mix all the ingredients.
- Season the conger eel with salt and pepper and place it in a bowl with half of the chermoula, add a tablespoon of water and mix well. Let it marinate while we prepare the ingredients for the tajine.
- Cut all the vegetables.
- Next add two tablespoons of oil to the base of the tajine, arrange a base of onion and carrot. Then drizzle a little of the reserved marinade. On this base place the tomato slices and around them arrange the potato slices in a ring.
- In the center of the ring place the conger eel which you will have removed from the marinade. Distribute the pepper strips, the olives, add two bay leaves and garnish around with some lemon slices. Pour the remaining marinade and close the tajine.
- Cook for 20 minutes over medium heat. Once the 20 minutes have passed check that the potato is cooked; if not, close again and cook 10 more minutes.
- Serve hot.
As you can see, tajines are very forgiving preparations; they are the ideal way to make traditional dishes or to give them a different touch. And as if that weren't enough, they'll always have a perfect presentation.
At Claudia&Julia you will find the iron tajine, like the Le Creuset one I used today to cook this recipe, and the ceramic tajines, like those from Emile Henry or Revol. See them all here.
And don't tell me this fish casserole isn't wonderfully aromatic as well as healthy and delicious. Will you dare to make it? I'm sure at home they'll be licking their fingers and wanting to dip bread.
Tell me, do you like cooking in a tajine?
Loreto
