North African flavours

This is a development of one of my favourite recipes from a book called Supercookery, which was a present for my 21st birthday - and, no, I am not going to tell you when that was!!  But here's a picture of the book, so you can make up your own minds how old it is and therefore how old I am..........

The recipe it's based on is called Carrots, Algerian style and at the time, was considered very exotic.  Cumin was hard to come by in those days unless you lived in the south or a Midlands city with a sizeable ethnic population and a brief spell living in County Durham made spice shopping an epic venture.

Of course these days what were once exotic ingredients are now readily available and North African cooking is far more prevalent.

As is the appropriate cookware - what better to prepare this in than one of these ........

What I particularly love about the original recipe though is the family story of Neil telling our, then 3 year old, daughter that these carrots were his favourites.

The next day she asked me when we were having Daddy's friends for tea again.

I assumed she meant the friends who had been round the week before and explained that they were on holiday, so it would be a while before they could come again.

"No," she said, "not them, the carrots.  Daddy said they were his friends!!"

They are now firmly established as Daddy's friends, though I'm pleased to report that he does have some human friends too.

Daddy's friends tagine

1 onion, sliced

2 fat cloves garlic

1 dessertspoon cumin seeds

2 tsp rock salt

1" ginger

6 cloves

1 dessertspoon dried rose petals (optional)

200g chick peas, soaked and cooked - or use a 400g tin

4 large carrots

1 red pepper, sliced

2 satsumas, quartered

6 dates, stoned and chopped

1 dessertspoon honey

450ml stock

Black pepper

Pucketts carrot and cardamom chutney (optional)

Put the cast iron bowl over a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon oil.
Fry the onions until translucent.

Meanwhile, pound the garlic, salt, cumin and cloves to a paste.

Add to onions and stir well to distribute evenly.

Peel and finely chop the ginger and add to the bowl.

Cook for 3 minutes over medium heat.
Thickly slice the carrots.

Add chick peas, carrots, stock, rose petals, satsumas, dates, honey, chutney and black pepper. Stir well to mix.

Put the tagine lid on.
Cook for 45 minutes.

Remove the satsumas before serving

Serve with roast chicken and cous cous for a sumptuous Sunday lunch - or with flatbreads and salad for a mid week meat free treat.
You can also leave it til the next day and serve at room temperature as a salad or pitta bread filling.

You can also make this dish using the electric tagine.

Once all the ingredients are added to the cast iron bowl, put the tagine lid on and carefully transfer the dish to the heater base.
Cook on LOW for 3 - 4 hours.

 Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2014 ©