This recipe for Easy Tagine of Pork with Sweet Potato, Ras-el-hanout , and Preserved Lemon uses the pre-made spice mix to create the complex Moroccan flavors. No tagine? No Problem. Alternative cooking methods are included.
Why you should make this recipe
Because it's delicious, good for your soul, good for your taste buds recipe. And it can be made in less than an hour.
Pungent, sweet, spicy, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, coriander. Warm flavors that turn a simple stew into a Moroccan feast.
Combine the spice with sweetness, and, as in most tagines, dried fruits, and you have a taste sensation for your mouth.
Many people are put off, or afraid to try Moroccan cooking. Too many ingredients. What the heck is a tagine? Sound difficult.
Blah blah blah.
Well, let me help you out there.
The long and the short of the ingredients needed to make this Tagine of Pork
- To keep this recipe simple I used Ras-el-hanout which is a combination of almost all of the spices used in Moroccan cooking. It includes almost 20 spices so it's pretty inclusive while giving authentic flavor to the dish. The only thing it lacks, in my opinion, is heat. So I add a bit of cayenne.
- Fresh Ginger - While you could get away with powdered ginger, I think fresh gives you the best flavor.
- Diced yellow onion
- Preserved Lemon - tips on how to make your own later, but jarred is fine and very easily found in most supermarkets or on-line.
- Cilantro - love it or hate it? If you love it, add some in for color and flavor, if you hate it, well, then omit it.
- Pork Tenderloin - I chose a pork tenderloin for this recipe, both for its leanness and ability to cook to tender quickly.
- Sweet Potato - or yam, or ganet potato
- Can of Diced Tomatoes - I always give my diced tomato a little quick blend or chop as I find the canned tomato to be a bit firm.
- Peas - fresh or frozen. If using fresh blanch them in boiling water for about 5 minutes to start the cooking process. Frozen peas do not need to be thawed.
- Toasted Pistachio Nuts - the ultimate Morrocan nut. This adds a nice buttery finish to the dish.
FAQ's
You could use tougher cuts of pork, or other cuts of meat, such as beef stew, but both of those would need to cook longer than the tenderloin. Tenderloin will be tender in about 20 minutes total, other, tougher cuts, might take up to an hour to get tender. If you decide on another cut of meat, be sure to cook it in the sauce until tender before adding the sweet potatoes and other ingredients.
A tagine is a conical cooking device used in Moroccan cooking, unique in that the top allows the condensation created by cooking to fall evenly back over the food.
Tagines come in different styles and use.
Some tagines are strictly for serving, and not meant to be heated or used for cooking at all. Many are clay versions, which can be used in the oven. Some clay pots allow limited stove-top use. Then there are those with bases that can be heated on top of the stove allowing you to brown and cook from beginning to end.
Sweet potatoes are one of those "superfoods" supplying amazing amounts of nutritional value. 214% of your daily requirement of Vitamin A, 50% of Vitamin C, along with magnesium, and many other trace elements.
Not all sweet potatoes are orange inside, as a matter of fact, you can find purple ones. Alongside sweet potatoes in the grocery aisle are garnet potatoes, and what is commonly called a yam, although it is not a true yam. Any of these can easily be used in this recipe. Even pumpkin or butternut squash could be substituted. Adjust your cooking time accordingly.
It wouldn't be exactly right, but you could use some lemon zest to give it some lemon flavor. Lemon zest mixed with a bit of salt would be closer to the preserved lemon flavor.
Yes you can. Preserved lemons are simple enough to make, although it takes time. Cut lemons tightly packed into a non-reactive container with enough salt and juice to cover them...then just let them sit and ferment for a few weeks, or months.
This recipe also does not include the standard dried fruits often associated with tagine and Moroccan cooking. Apricots, dates, and raisins are very common. While not in the recipe per se, they could be easily incorporated. If you choose to add dried fruits, I would go with golden raisins or apricots.
Pistachios. Who doesn't love pistachios? Buttery, salty, fatty, rich. One of the oldest nuts used in history, pistachios is part of the healthy fats we need to include in our diets. If you don't want to use, or don't have pistachios, cashews are a good substitute. Whichever nuts you use, be sure to toast them!
After having first made the error and purchasing an ornamental serving tagine, which is pretty useless except as kitchen decoration, I bought a Le Creuset tagine, with a cast iron base. This allows me to cook my entire recipe in one pot, start to finish. While not cheap, it is, in my opinion, worth it if you to want cook Moroccan food. There are cheaper full-functioning tagines in the market.
Should you neither desire another piece of kitchen equipment or think you won't use it often, then a Dutch oven will also work for this recipe.
To the Finish Line
The dish is finished with a fine chop of preserved lemon, roasted salted pistachios, and cilantro.
So that's the easy tagine. Nothing to fear. Just good eats. On the table in about 30 minutes...
Try this with a side of simple steamed rice or try Twice Cooked Brown Rice.
Wine Recommendation: The Moroccan flavors of the dish pair well with lighter Spanish reds such as Grenache and Rioja. If looking for a white, I would recommend a Roussanne, from the Rhone or an off-dry Riesling from Alsace. A spicy German Gewurztraminer would also work nicely.
Tagine of Pork with Sweet Potato and ras-el-hanout
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Ghee or 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 ½ pounds pork tenderloin cubed in about 1-inch pieces
- 1 1 - inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- ½ cup onion finely chopped (about 1 medium or ½ large)
- 2 teaspoons ras-el-hanout or to taste
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Water as needed
- 2 medium-small sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 ½ cups frozen peas
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Garnishes
- Preserved lemon chopped
- ¼ cup toasted pistachio coarsely chopped
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Heat the ghee (or oil and butter) in a stove-top approved tagine or heavy-bottomed casserole. Pat the pork dry with towels and season lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper. Saute in the ghee, stirring until lightly browned; add the ginger and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender. Add the ras-el-hanout and cayenne, stir in well, then add enough water to cover the meat; bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.
- Add the sweet potato and tomatoes with their juice, cover and simmer 10 minutes or until the potato is tender; stir in the peas; cook 5 minutes until done. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Top the tagine with the preserved lemon, pistachios, and cilantro. Serve with a side of rice or couscous.
Russell Vandercook
Thanks for a great recipe. Try Jerusalem artichokes for the root vegetable.