Pheasant Thigh Tagine

[Mister Gain 1,759]

Found 5 skinned pheasant thighs in the freezer yesterday, and knowing they were over 2 years old I decided to thaw them out and see if they were still OK. No freezer burn so they are for todays dinner. The wife said to make a small casserole, but... I know best and thought I'd ponce it up a bit,

 

I cubed up the thighs, peeled and chopped 3 carrots, 3 coarsley chopped red onions. Made up some chicken stock, put the diffuser onto the hob and put it all in and brought it up to a slow simmer.

 

Added...

teaspoon of garlic powder.

about 25 halved black olives (and a splash of the brine)

half a teaspoon of black pepper

about a third of a tube of tomato paste

3 heaped teaspoons of harissa paste

teaspoon of Ras Al Hanout powder

Took the dog for a walk to the park to acquire a couple of fresh bay leaves (tip... only pick the ones higher than the dog can cock it's leg)

3 small potatoes cubed

couple of pinches of rock salt

 

I let the tagine bubble away for nearly 3 hours and the pheasant fell apart, it's not very hot but that was intentional as the wife doesn't like going to work with hotty botty.

 

All I have to do later is prepare some couscous and the job's a good'un.

 

[jok 3,035]

That looks absolutely wonderful. Just so happens I've got the next 6 brace to do and ordinarily that would get chucked.( simply because I can't physically handle the amount of birds given me. ) I think that's going to be on the table Saturday teatime. Thanks for that pal. Jok.

[low plains drifter 9,457]

You want to get yourself on Masterchef mate, you'll end up with your own restaurant and a good few Michelin tyres

[jok 3,035]

Out of Curiousity where do you get the harrissa and hanout powders? Also thinking about a seafood version of the same dish. Jok.

[terryd 8,022]

my type of post very nice

[Nik_B 3,790]

Out of Curiousity where do you get the harrissa and hanout powders? Also thinking about a seafood version of the same dish. Jok.

 

You can get it off the internet easy enough. The one we had in Algeria was this one

 

http://www.finefoodspecialist.co.uk/harissa-chilli-paste/

 

Or you can even make it yourself

[Mister Gain 1,759]

Out of Curiousity where do you get the harrissa and hanout powders? Also thinking about a seafood version of the same dish. Jok.

 

I get mine from a small shop in the high street. With the amount of foreigners now living in the area these type of shops are appearing more and more to cater for the different tastes. I notice ASDA do a harissa paste, don't know what it's like though)

 

This particular shop stocks loads of different pickled veggies, nuts, seeds, Iranian saffron, Cypriot pastirma sausage, jars of vine leaves for dolmades (I harvest my own and freeze them), as well as fresh veggies and fruit (not pre-packed), in fact loads of stuff from all over the place.

 

I don't cook as much as I used to, it's a very time consuming business as I tend to be a bit of a pedant where food is concerned.

 

edited to say... the wife enjoyed the tagine and couscous, but I boosted mine with a liberal dose of Encona hot pepper sauce.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Mister Gain

[jok 3,035]

Seemed to have been in most of the Als but not Algeria., I probably shouldn't go into them sort of diets LOL.

[j j m 6,478]

very nice mate

[The one 8,393]

Looks good apart from the olives mate

[Mister Gain 1,759]

Looks good apart from the olives mate

 

If you don't like olives just omit them, but I feel that olives give an added dimension to the flavour. Dried fruits are used a lot in Moroccan/North African tagines, such as apricots, dates or prunes but I only had dried apple so didn't bother. Also used a lot is preserved lemon but again, I didn't have any. Rose petals are used in a lot of dishes, most harissa pastes contain them, as does a lot of the ras al hanout powder. You can buy bottles of rose water and just add a splash of that. All of these different ingredients enhance what is basically a stew/casserole and gives it it's authenticity.

 

A tagine is good with most meats, I've had rabbit, beef, lamb, chicken and pheasant, all melt in the mouth. If you are going to buy a tagine (the cooking pot) to use on direct flame then it is prudent to also get a metal heat diffuser to eliminate the risk of the pot cracking.

[Nik_B 3,790]

 

Looks good apart from the olives mate

 

If you don't like olives just omit them, but I feel that olives give an added dimension to the flavour. Dried fruits are used a lot in Moroccan/North African tagines, such as apricots, dates or prunes but I only had dried apple so didn't bother. Also used a lot is preserved lemon but again, I didn't have any. Rose petals are used in a lot of dishes, most harissa pastes contain them, as does a lot of the ras al hanout powder. You can buy bottles of rose water and just add a splash of that. All of these different ingredients enhance what is basically a stew/casserole and gives it it's authenticity.

 

A tagine is good with most meats, I've had rabbit, beef, lamb, chicken and pheasant, all melt in the mouth. If you are going to buy a tagine (the cooking pot) to use on direct flame then it is prudent to also get a metal heat diffuser to eliminate the risk of the pot cracking.

 

 

Have you ever done cous cous? We used to get that a lot in Algeria. Their 'lamb' was a bit rank (probably mutton) but I always enjoyed a good cous cous

[Mister Gain 1,759]

 

 

Looks good apart from the olives mate

 

If you don't like olives just omit them, but I feel that olives give an added dimension to the flavour. Dried fruits are used a lot in Moroccan/North African tagines, such as apricots, dates or prunes but I only had dried apple so didn't bother. Also used a lot is preserved lemon but again, I didn't have any. Rose petals are used in a lot of dishes, most harissa pastes contain them, as does a lot of the ras al hanout powder. You can buy bottles of rose water and just add a splash of that. All of these different ingredients enhance what is basically a stew/casserole and gives it it's authenticity.

 

A tagine is good with most meats, I've had rabbit, beef, lamb, chicken and pheasant, all melt in the mouth. If you are going to buy a tagine (the cooking pot) to use on direct flame then it is prudent to also get a metal heat diffuser to eliminate the risk of the pot cracking.

 

 

Have you ever done cous cous? We used to get that a lot in Algeria. Their 'lamb' was a bit rank (probably mutton) but I always enjoyed a good cous cous

 

 

Always have some cous cous in the cupboard, in fact that's what we had with this meal, it soaks the juice up a treat. I sometimes make it with mixed, cooked, finely diced veggies and have it cold as a salad.

[j j m 6,478]

sounds nice

[The one 8,393]

Whats cous - cous im no keen on anything ive never seen running about a field and cous -cous is one of them