Tagine Tastiness

Charlie has experimented with many cuisines, from Vietnamese to Thai to Somewhere In Louisiana. His turkey gumbo, made from the carcass of our thanksgiving bird? Divine. Kung Pao shrimp? He can knock your socks off.

But one thing he hasn't used until today: a tagine. I have often looked at them longingly in the kitchen store mostly because their shape is so seductive. A curved base and a fluted top, a culinary tent that sits on your stove and keeps moisture in Just So. I never bought one because I hadn't the faintest what to do with the thing.

Dinner, in process. The black dish is the bottom of the tagine

Today we found ourselves at a bookstore, as we often do on weekends, and suddenly Charlie had an armful of new cookbooks. Moroccan and Turkish, to be exact (well, and Cuban but that will be another story). He picked a recipe from the Moroccan book and we headed to sur la table and finally bought a tagine.

Moments before eating

The recipe: shrimp with ginger and fennel. The verdict: awesome. Most recipes take a few cookings to get right, especially when you're using a new technique. But this one was fabulous on the first take. I am delighted to report that I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.