anchovies tajine

Carmen, author of Yerbabuena in the Kitchen , transports us today to the world of spices and slow cooking. He does it with his memories and with the recipe that he presents to us today, prepared in a tajine. I am convinced that the ease and flavor of this recipe will captivate you!

A few years ago I was lucky enough to travel to Marrakech, I still keep in my memory the intense colors, the smell of spices, and the feeling of life in that city.
All of Marrakech revolves around the Jemaa el Fna square, during the day it is filled with the most diverse people, from snake charmers or monkey trainers, to dentists, storytellers, vendors of the sweetest fruit juices and of the richest nuts, etc. At night the square is transformed, suddenly it is filled with color with thousands of little lights and hundreds of food stalls flooding Djamaa el Fna, filling every corner with a multitude of smells. Truly quite a show!

The tajine is a traditional dish of North African cuisine, especially from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, it is prepared in a shallow fired and varnished clay container whose conical lid maintains heat and steam during and after. After cooking, when it condenses on the upper part of the lid, it falls again in the form of water on the food, thus preventing it from drying out and providing all its flavor when cooked with its own juices.

There is a wide variety of tajines , both meat such as lamb, chicken, beef, and fish, the most common being sardines or anchovies, or vegetables. Depending on each one, different ingredients are seasoned, both sweet and salty, honey, nuts and spices.

Fish tajines are usually seasoned with a marinade called Chermoula whose ingredients are coriander, parsley, garlic, black pepper, cumin, paprika, lemon juice and olive oil. As you imagine a whole sensation of flavors in one bite.

Also, if like me, you decide on this tajine from Emile Henry , you will be betting not only on the best and tastiest cooking, you will also do it in the healthiest and most elegant way possible thanks to the design, color and enamel. A whim within anyone's reach!

Let's go for the recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 Kg. Clean anchovies and remove the central spine
• 4 grated tomatoes
• ½ red pepper
• 4 crushed garlic cloves
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• The juice of half a lemon, another way to decorate
• fresh coriander
• Parsley
• A splash of virgin olive oil
• Salt

Elaboration

• We clean, remove the spine from the anchovies so that they remain open and dry.
• Prepare the marinade or chermoula by mixing in a container, the crushed garlic cloves, the paprika, if you like you can use a little spiciness, the black pepper, the cumin, the cilantro and finely chopped parsley, the juice of half a lemon, the salt and a drizzle of olive oil. We remove well.
• We put an open and boneless anchovy in the palm of the hand with the part of the skin facing down, and the part where the spine was going up, we impregnated the latter with a little of the previous mixture, we covered with another anchovy as a of book, so that the part of the skins of the anchovies is on the outside and the part of the spines on the inside.
• As it comes into contact and is very powerful in flavor, we only add the marinade to one of the two anchovies. Transfer to a plate and reserve. So until you finish all the anchovies.
• Grate the tomatoes and place in the tajine , add the remaining chermoula and stir to integrate well.
• We carefully place the anchovies on the tomato in the most aesthetic way possible. Cut the pepper into strips and the lemon into half slices and decorate around the fish.
• We put the lid on the tagine and bring it to the fire, first over medium heat and then stronger. Let the fish cook for 15 minutes. We serve presented in the same tajine .