The Architecture of a Tagine
Imagine Christmas Day, three or four years ago. Imagine a father and daughter running through the rain toward a ferry boat docked in the Straights of Gibraltar. Imagine them caught in stormy waters and finally dropped at dusk in a Moroccan harbor filled with puddles and taxis. Can you smell the spices of the marketplace? Can you hear the sounds of the umbrella sellers? Can you taste the salads and breads and couscous and tagines? Can you sway to the drums and lutes? It seems just yesterday that Papi Mersy and I set out for Morocco, on a whim, and had the adventure of a lifetime! We caused panic in a tea shop, befriended a sweets seller, escaped a taxi driver, bartered for gold, and ended up onstage with musicians. Can you imagine a more daring and fascinating Christmas Day?!
Ever since then, the smells and tasted of Morocco have fascinated me. I've wanted to recreate them in my own kitchen. And this Christmas, Mr. Mersy's wonderful sister and brother-in-law gave us the tool to do so. We received the most gorgeous hand sculpted cooking vessel from them, delicately decorated with dragonflies.
I've been reading so much recently about the anthropology and natural history of cooking, and the connections to our life are surprising.
Take, for instance, the Pig Pickin' that is held every year in Mr. Mersy's parents' yard in North Carolina.
Not only is this a time of community, sharing, relaxation, and appreciation of delicious food, it is also a celebration of the ancient art of open-fire cooking. This year, a pit master in the neighborhood suggested that they try smoker cookers. Mr. Mersy said it was delicious I hope that someday soon I can also attend the Pig Pickin'- I imagine that the smell is divine.
But compared to the male-dominated, public, ritualized process of open-fire cooking, I've been really interested in the mysterious, feminine, private realm of pot dishes. The transformations that come of allowing the slow melding of ingredients in water, enclosed by the protective walls of the cooking pot. And I've been enjoying celebrating this transformation with our new cooking pot. Of course, the first dish that popped into my mind to make was a Moroccan chicken tagine. It was a blast to cook, and although I would adjust my spice mixture for the next time, Mr. Mersy declared it to to be absolutely delicious. Here's the architecture of the dish:
Then into the oven, it pops, where a mysterious transformation slowly and gently creates the extraordinary flavors we enjoyed so much!
It is beautiful and artful, and oh-so-human.
Cook yourself something tasty today,
Love,
~Mersydotes
I've been reading so much recently about the anthropology and natural history of cooking, and the connections to our life are surprising.
Take, for instance, the Pig Pickin' that is held every year in Mr. Mersy's parents' yard in North Carolina.
Not only is this a time of community, sharing, relaxation, and appreciation of delicious food, it is also a celebration of the ancient art of open-fire cooking. This year, a pit master in the neighborhood suggested that they try smoker cookers. Mr. Mersy said it was delicious I hope that someday soon I can also attend the Pig Pickin'- I imagine that the smell is divine.
But compared to the male-dominated, public, ritualized process of open-fire cooking, I've been really interested in the mysterious, feminine, private realm of pot dishes. The transformations that come of allowing the slow melding of ingredients in water, enclosed by the protective walls of the cooking pot. And I've been enjoying celebrating this transformation with our new cooking pot. Of course, the first dish that popped into my mind to make was a Moroccan chicken tagine. It was a blast to cook, and although I would adjust my spice mixture for the next time, Mr. Mersy declared it to to be absolutely delicious. Here's the architecture of the dish:
Then into the oven, it pops, where a mysterious transformation slowly and gently creates the extraordinary flavors we enjoyed so much!
It is beautiful and artful, and oh-so-human.
Cook yourself something tasty today,
Love,
~Mersydotes
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