Baby Calamari With Red Pepper And Tomato

When I moved to Nantucket, I had never had or cooked Moroccan food or ever heard or used a tagine. My friends on this tiny little island are all foodies, who love to cook, eat, and drink wine...My favorite kind of people! I have cooked a few recipes using the tagine and it is fun...It is kind of like an "old school" slow cooker. My friend has a great cookbook called "The Food Of Morocco" where this recipe plus others have been created from. I highly recommend this delicious feast and I hope you will give it a try sometime soon...ENJOY!

Tagine Of Baby Calamari With Red Pepper And Tomato

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 tsp McCormick cumin

• 3 garlic cloves

• Sea salt

• 1 T saffron water

• 1 tsp McCormick ground ginger

• 1/2 tsp Simply Organic smoked paprika

• 1/2 tsp Simply Organic turmeric

• 1/2 tsp cayenne

• 3 T Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil

• 1 pound baby calamari

• 1 cup finely chopped onion

• 1 cup peeled and diced red bell pepper

• 1 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes

• 2 tsp sugar

• 2 T lemon fresh lemon juice

• 2 T chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS

• In a bowl mix well the cumin, garlic, and 1 tsp of salt. Dilute with the saffron water, then add the rest of the spices, and olive oil. Toss the calamari in the mixture, cover, and refrigerate for one hour.

• Heat up the tagine on low heat for about 20 minutes. Warm the olive oil, then add the onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped red pepper, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the seasoned calamari, raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring until most of the moisture evaporates.

• Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, half the lemon juice, and half the cilantro, and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 45 minutes or until the squid are tender.

• Serve over cauliflower rice and add additional cilantro, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes for that extra KICK!

This recipe was DELISH! When I first looked at the cookbook, I found it a little bit daunting, but it came together very well and was not hard at all. I used cauliflower rice because I am slightly addicted to it at the moment and use it with almost all my dinners. It would definitely go well with pasta or rice. Next time I want to add shrimp to make it a little bit heartier. 

Have you ever cooked a Moroccan recipe? If so, what is your favorite?

Have you ever used a tagine?