Le Creuset Tagine, Cerise

Slow cooking with the conical funnel of the tagine resulted in a delicious, aromatic dish with the flavours and moisture of the ingredients locked in. Sat around the table, dining out of the communal dish with my host family was an absolute delight, an unforgettable experience. So when I eventually returned home I simply had to buy a tagine for myself; choice was limited and I ended up buying the Le Creuset model simply because it was the only one available at the time. Its main difference from the traditional cooking pot is that the base is made of cast iron rather than earthenware. I expect that this means that the dish will be more durable in the long-term. However, the cast iron means that it is less efficient at dissipating heat compared to the earthenware so that it tends to overheat unless the gas is kept really low. Even so, it's difficult to stop spilling over when used on the average domestic hob - the size of the dish sees to that! I agree with others who have said that this tagine would ideally cook a meal for 4 - not big enough for a really large party, but great for a special evening with friends. Looks good and very capable of producing authentic dishes!