Casablanca Market Unglazed Natural Tagine

In Morocco, you can't go two steps without seeing—and smelling—tagine, which refers to both a broad variety of flavorful, slow-simmered stews and the conical cooking vessel in which they are prepared. While you don't need the pot to make the stew, the cookware's pyramid-shaped lid does most of the work for you and produces consistently moist results, condensing and redirecting steam back into food. We love these beautiful unglazed tagines from Casablanca Market: Each one-of-a-kind piece is made of terra cotta, which is porous so it absorbs flavors from every batch and infuses it into food, much like seasoned cast iron. Some tagines will have color variations or small indents in the sides. These aren't defects but rather a result of their traditional production method: Multiple pots in the kiln side by side that are then separated by hand, so each tagine is unique in character. To season before first use, submerge both the pot and lid in water for six hours and let them air-dry completely. Rub the interior of the base and lid with a few tablespoons of cooking oil, then place the tagine in a cold oven. Set the oven to 350°F, bake for 2 hours, and leave the tagine to cool completely in the turned-off oven. As with all clay cookware, your tagine should not be exposed to extreme temperature shock. Rinsing a hot pot under cold water, for instance, may cause it to crack.