Lately I’ve been noticing tagine used in recipe titles where the word stew once sufficed. I chalked it up to marketing: dishes always sound better if the name is evocative and exotic. Who wants boring ol’ Beef Stew when they can have the succulent sensation of a Beef Tagine? See how that works?

So, I looked into this tagine business, and I’ve changed my mind as well as my spelling.

The tagine, or tajine as it’s called in its native land, is a type of clay cooking pot used in North Africa, specifically in the cuisines of Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. The dome-shaped top is designed to allow condensation to remain in the bottom of the vessel –it can actually be lifted without a potholder during cooking to check on the progress.

The resulting dish is also called a tajine, and the Moroccan versions are slow-simmered combinations of lamb, beef, vegetables, dried fruit, and spices. The unique shape of the cooking vessel allows for the long, slow cooking of inexpensive cuts of meats, resulting in a falling-off-the-bone tenderness.

Lamb Tagine with Quail Eggs (FotoosVanRobin, Creative Commons License)

Sound familiar? All of the best features about the tajine are the same features we love about our slow cookers. That means that Moroccan food and crockpots are a marriage made in food heaven. You don’t have to cook in an actual tajine to have a tajine; you just have to cook slowly and make use of Moroccan ingredients and spices.

This tajine is vegetarian-friendly and has an intoxicating combination of spices. Simmer this in your slow cooker, and you’ll soon find that it’s not just the name tajine that’s exotic. It’s the taste.

Moroccan Spiced Lentil Tagine

Slow Cooker Moroccan Spiced Lentil Tajine Recipe

1 16 oz. bag dried lentils (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
3 carrots, sliced or chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cups cooked chickpeas (about 1 can)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger (1 tsp dried)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp  coriander
4 cups raw spinach leaves
1/2 cup raisins, pre-soaked to plump (or dried apricots or dates)
Cilantro to garnish

Directions: Combine all ingredients except spinach, raisins and cilantro in the crock of your slow cooker, and stir to combine. Cook on low for 6-7 hours, or high for 3-3 1/2 hours. Stir in spinach about five minutes before serving. (The condensation will steam it perfectly.) Top with raisins and cilantro and serve.

Serve over couscous, which literally cooks in about five minutes, and you have a whole meal. If you’d like to serve a side, consider leaving the spinach out of the tajine and serving a side of steamed fresh greens.

Make it a theme night and watch The Road to Morocco, which is a hoot of a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movie. On the other hand, The Matrix has about the same amount of Moroccan authenticity. Watch anything: when your food’s authentic, your film doesn’t have to be.