Chickpea and Carrot Tagine

Ras al Hanout

Ras el hanout is a complex, aromatic Moroccan spice blend that's so famously associated with Moroccan cuisine, it always makes the list of foods to bring back from a trip to Morocco. The literal translation of ras el hanout from Arabic to English is “head of the shop," implying that this mix of spices is the very best offering in a spice shop. Due to its liberal use in mrouzia, a lamb and honey dish with intense seasoning, ras el hanout is also sometimes called mrouzia spice. No two versions of this spice blend are the same, so if sampling ras el hanout from different sources, you'll notice slight flavor variations. While most recipes include cardamom, nutmeg, anise, mace, cinnamon, ginger, various peppers, and turmeric, a total of 30 or more ingredients might be used in varying quantities.

Tagine

A tajine or tagine is a Maghrebi dish which is named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. It is also called maraq or marqa. The tagine dates back to the time of Harun al-Rashid, the fifth Abbasid Caliph. The earliest writings about the concept of cooking in a tajine appear in the famous One Thousand and One Nights, an Arabic-language story collection from the ninth century. Today, the cooking-pot and its traditional broth are primarily prepared in the Middle East and North Africa. In North Africa, it is called a tajine, while in the Middle East it is called a maraq (broth) or a qidra (cooking pot). There are different ways to prepare the tajine. In the original qidra style, saman (clarified butter) is used to lubricate the surface and a puree of chopped onion is added for flavour and aroma. For muqawlli-style cooking, the ingredients are placed in olive oil to enrich the flavours.