America's Test Kitchen (2000–…): Season 21, Episode 10 - Tagine and Hummus - full transcript

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

-Welcome to "America's
Test Kitchen" at home.

Today, I'm making an easy but
elegant Moroccan fish tagine.

Jack's going to tell us all
about buying and storing spices.

And Becky's making
an ultra-creamy hummus.

We've got a lot in store today,
so stick around.

♪♪



To me, cod is like
the boneless,

skinless chicken of the sea
because it has a mild flavor

that really benefits
from a recipe

that packs a punch.

A lot like
a Moroccan fish tagine,

which is what I'm going to
show you how to make today.

Now, I like serving tagine
with a little bit of rice

in the bottom of the bowl
to catch that sauce,

so I have some basmati cooking
in the rice cooker back there.

And the other thing
about a tagine

is there's one key ingredient
that you have to include,

and that's preserved lemons.

Now, you can buy
preserved lemons at a nice,

well-stocked market.



You can make them,

although it takes a few weeks

for them
to marinate and ferment.

Or you can use this really quick
recipe I'm about to show you.

It takes only 24 hours
for the lemons to really soften,

and they can hold
for up to two weeks.

Alright.
So here I have two lemons

and I already washed them.

Washing the lemons is crucial

because you're going to use
the skins as well,

so you want them
to be nice and clean.

And I'm going to trim
off the edge here.

I'm going to use a mandoline

to slice them
as thinly as possible.

Now, really, you can't slice
them thinly enough by hand.

Just going to slice
these nice and thin.

They're going to start
to break apart.

And that's okay.
And watch your fingers.

Alright. Here I have
all these lemon slices.

To this we're going to add
3 tablespoons of sugar.

Now, sugar is not a traditional
ingredient in preserved lemons,

but in quick preserved lemons,

it really helps mitigate
that acidity.

We're going to add some salt,
3 tablespoons of table salt.

And last but not least,
some olive oil.

Now, olive oil
is also not traditional,

but that oil will help
soften the skins overnight.

So that was 3/4 of a cup
of extra virgin olive oil.

Stir this around.
Get it really nicely combined.

So I'm just going to take
the lemons

and pack them into the jar.

Now, we do have a recipe
for traditional preserved lemons

that take about 8 weeks
to ferment in the fridge,

and you can find that
on our website.

So here are some preserved
lemons that are ready to go,

and we only need two tablespoons
of these chopped up

that we're going to add
to the pot.

Little goes a long way
with these guys.

Just going to chop
these up nice and fine.

Yeah, that looks like
2 tablespoons.

Might be a bit heavy,
but I like the flavor.

Set that aside.

Now let's work
on the vegetables.

There aren't a lot of vegetables
going into this tagine.

Just an onion, a bell pepper,
and a carrot.

So we're going to cut these
all the same way --

lengthwise into nice strips.

Going to start with the onion.

Cut it in half, and that's when
I like to peel it.

So I'm gonna slice off
that root end,

and now I'm just going to slice
all the way around pole to pole,

but I'm going to angle
the knife as I go.

Now, when I get about halfway,

I like to tip that onion back
on its other side.

It's just easier.

That's an onion.

Onto the bell pepper.

Now, to do the bell pepper,

I'm going to cut off the top
and the bottom.

Save those.
We're going to use them.

Slice down through one side

and then open it up.

And that's when you can easily
take out the core

and all those seeds.

Then we're going to go in
and trim away

some of those ribs
using a knife.

Now, this is when your fingers
get in the way a little bit,

so just be careful.

Alright, so now that I have
these flat pieces of pepper,

it's easy to cut them
into nice, thin strips.

Now for the tops
and the bottoms.

I don't like wasting anything,

so I'm just going to
slice them as well.

Last but not least, one carrot,

which we're also going
to slice thin.

Of course
you have to peel it first.

Put the carrot
on a solid surface of a board.

It makes it really easy to peel
really quickly.

For the carrot, we're going
to cut it on the bias

so the carrots
have a nice elongated shape,

and that's it.

Last but not least,
I have 1/3 of a cup

of green pitted olives.

And it's these
two ingredients --

the green olives
and the preserved lemon --

that are the classic flavorings
in any tagine.

Here I have 1/3 of a cup
of pitted green olives.

And if you can find
picholine olives or cerignolas,

those have amazing flavor.

But really, any good-looking
green olive will work well.

So now I'm just going to
cut these into quarters.

Alright, with all
the veg prep done,

it's time to focus on the star
of the show -- the cod.

So here I have 1 1/2 pounds
of cod.

Ooh, look at this beauty.

Now, this is a beautiful fillet.

Not a lot of prep
we have to do here.

It's already boneless
and skinless.

We're just going to cut it up
into nice stew-sized pieces,

about an inch and a 1/2
to 2 inches.

Cut it lengthwise.

Then cut it
into nice big chunks.

The only prep we need
to do to this fish

is to season it
with a little salt.

This is 1/2 a teaspoon
of table salt.

And that salt is going
to do two things --

It's going to season the fish,

but it's also going to help that
fish stay moist during cooking.

We just need
to let this fish sit

while we start a really
important part of this recipe.

It's a spice paste
known as a chermoula

that's going to give the fish
a lot of flavor.

And the first ingredient
is cilantro.

We want to go
for about 1/2 a cup,

and we want to use mostly
the leaves and the tender stems.

You don't want the thicker stems
because we want this

to be a pretty smooth paste.

So I'm going to add
this cilantro

right to the food processor.

Next, I'm going to add
4 garlic cloves.

And these are the ones
that are already peeled,

which I really love.

Now we're going to add
the spices,

and these spices are what makes
the tagine really have flavor.

We're going to add
a teaspoon and 1/4 of cumin,

teaspoon and 1/4 of paprika.

Last but not least,
a little cayenne,

just a 1/4 of a teaspoon.

I'm going to put the lid on.

We're going to pulse this
until it's finely chopped.

About 12 pulses or so.

Next in, want
about a tablespoon and a 1/2

of fresh lemon juice.

I like to squeeze it
right into the food processor.

Ooh, this is a good,
juicy lemon.

Mmm. Looking good.

Last ingredient
is some extra virgin olive oil,

just 2 tablespoons,
and I'm not going to add it

to the food processor
with the blades spinning

because that can make
that oil taste a little bitter.

Instead, I'm going
to take it off

and just add it by hand.

When you're all done,

this is what the chermoula
looks like.

It's finally minced,
glistening with the oil

and the lemon juice.

And it has a wonderful,
fragrant smell.

Alright.
We're going to set that aside.

It is time to start
cooking the tagine.

And what I have here is a Dutch
oven heating up over medium heat

with 1/4 cup
of extra virgin olive oil in it,

and that oil
is starting to shimmer,

so it's a perfect time
to add the vegetables.

Add them to the pot

along with a little salt.

Just 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

We're just going to let
these cook for 5 minutes or so

until they soften.

Now, the word tagine
actually refers to two things.

First, it is the cooking method
where everything is cooked

gently together in a pot,
so it all gets flavored at once.

Second, it is the traditional
cooking vessel.

It has that iconic look
with that big lid.

And if you have one of those,
by all means,

you should substitute it
for the Dutch oven.

These vegetables are
nicely softened

and it's time
to add some tomatoes.

Now, this is a 14 1/2-ounce can
of diced tomatoes

and we're going to add it
with the juice.

That juice is going to add
nice liquid to the sauce.

In go the green olives.

Last but not least, we're going
to add the preserved lemons.

Now, a lot of recipes

have you add the lemons
at the end for a fresh flavor,

but because this cooks
so quickly,

we found it nice
to add them to the pot.

That way it allows their flavor
to bloom

and really permeate
through the sauce.

Alright. So here's the fish.

And now we're going to add
the chermoula to it.

We're gonna coat the fish
with this nice flavorful paste.

And you really want to do this
at the last minute

because you don't want the paste
to start to marinate the fish.

You just want to flavor the fish
during cooking.

Alright. So we're just going
to put this cod

on top of its bed
of vegetables.

You want to put them
in a single layer.

You don't want to stack the cod
on top of one another.

Gonna scrape out
any of the chermoula

left in the bowl because we want
all that flavor in the pot.

Alright. Medium heat.
We're going to put the lid on.

We're going to let this cook
for 3 to 5 minutes

until it just starts
to turn opaque

and the juices come out

and start to bubble
around the edges.

This fish has been cooking
for about 4 minutes.

Time to take a look
under the lid.

Oh, you can see all that liquid
that's come out of the cod

and it's making a lovely sauce

with all that juice
from the canned tomatoes.

No reason to add
any water or broth here.

There's plenty of liquid
in the fish.

That looks perfect,

so I'm going to turn
the heat off

and I'm actually going
to let the fish

finish cooking off the heat.

And that is key to ensuring
that the fish doesn't overcook

and start to fall apart.

And the way you know
the fish is perfectly cooked

is that it registers about
140 degrees on a thermometer.

This fish has been cooking off
the heat for about 4 minutes.

Again, we're looking for a temp
of about 140.

140.

Good to go.

Now, you don't want this
to sit around.

You want to be able
to serve it pretty much

as it finishes cooking.

One last prep, a little bit
of cilantro for the top.

So there is a bowl
with the rice waiting.

Oh, nice big chunks of cod.

And this juice is one of
the best parts of the tagine.

I like to drizzle it
right over the top

and let it soak down
into the rice.

Alright. A little bit
of bright cilantro on top.

It's that easy.

Now for a taste.

Oh, the cod.

I love it that
it holds together,

but as soon as you put your fork
to it, it starts to fall apart.

Mmm.

It has so much flavor.

I'm gonna dive down
into that rice now,

pick up some vegetables.

The carrots in this --

some of the best carrots
you'll ever have.

Mm. Mmm!

So if you want to make
Moroccan fish tagine,

remember three things -- first,
use some preserved lemons.

You can make them
or you can buy them.

Second, be sure to make your own
chermoula with lots of cilantro

and a few spices.

And last,
cook the fish off the heat

so it doesn't turn tough.

From "America's Test Kitchen"
at home,

a great recipe
for Moroccan fish tagine.

♪♪

-Spices are often the difference
between good cooking

and great cooking.

Let's start with a definition.

A spice is any plant
that you dry and then you eat.

So that includes the bark
of an evergreen tree --

cinnamon --

rhizomes and roots,
like ginger or turmeric.

Can be a flower
like lavender or rose petals.

Berries -- peppercorns, vanilla.

Even herbs that we dry

we call spices.

Enough with the botany.

Now let's start talking
about some cooking.

So really good tip --
the most important thing

is that your spices need
to be fresh.

One or two years out,

and they begin to lose
a lot of flavor.

So you can try to guess --
I have 63 spices.

Yeah, I counted them --
in my cabinet

or you can do what I do,
put a date on them.

So it's very simple,
when you get it home,

put a sticker on and the date
so that you know how old

that spice is.

Do not use a spice rack
on your counter

next to the stove
with a sunny window.

Spices do not like heat
and light.

They belong in a dark cupboard.

You can put them
in the freezer if you want,

but they're fine
in the cupboard.

Now, if you do not date them
or you have any doubts,

I've got some tests for you.

So we're going to call this the
sniff test and the crumble test.

So the sniff test, I'm going
to use for a ground spice

like ginger,
and it's kind of exactly

what you think it's going to be.

I'm going to stick my nose in --
[Sniffs] --

and take a really big whiff.

And if you get nothing --

Actually,
that was kind of a lot,

so this is nice and fresh.

You kind of want to get a lot.

But if you get no aroma,
you're going to get no flavor

and you should start over.

Now for something
that you feel like

doesn't quite sniff.
There's not much here.

So I'm going to do
the crumble test.

I'm going to put some
in my hand,

and then I'm just gonna
basically crumble it

with my fingers and see
if I can release any flavor.

I would say there's
a little bit of flavor.

Date on this is actually
from 2019,

so it's kind of old oregano.

It's not bad,
it's not going to ruin my food,

but the whole point
of the spices

are to elevate your food,
and that's not going to happen.

Next up, ground versus whole.

We use a lot of ground spices
in the test kitchen.

I use a lot of ground spices
at home.

They're super convenient,

but there are times
when you want whole spices.

Now, if you're going
to have whole spices,

you're going to need
a spice grinder.

Now you're thinking
this is a coffee grinder,

and, yeah, it's a coffee grinder
that I dedicate to spices.

I actually have two of these --
one for coffee

and one for spices.
This is mine.

I've had this at least 15,
maybe 20 years.

The biggest thing is to just
take care of it by cleaning it.

A damp paper towel
will do the trick.

And if it gets really dirty
and I'll show you --

mm, that's not the cleanest
I've ever had it.

You can do a cleaning trick
with rice.

This is brown rice.

You can use white rice,
any rice you have.

This is basically an abrasive.

And you throw that raw rice --

this is obviously
uncooked rice -- into the mill.

And now I'm going
to turn it on.

Making a cocktail here.

I'm shaking, actually
trying to get the grain

underneath the blade.

Alright. Let's see.

Alright, and the rice
has gotten underneath the blades

and gotten out a fair amount
of the gunk.

That looks better.

One last tip --

there are going to be times

that you're using whole spices

that you don't want them ground,
but you want them cracked,

say, like black pepper
for steak au poivre,

or cardamom that's going to go
into some oil

to begin a curry recipe.

So the best way to do this
is with a plastic bag,

because otherwise they're going
to fly all over your kitchen,

and a heavy implement.

You can use a meat pounder
or in this case,

I've got a skillet,
and just have some fun.

Oh, that's good.

Oh, that's good.
You don't want to go too far.

Actually, I'm probably in danger
of ripping this poor bag,

but get a lot of pressure on it

and you can see them beginning
to crack this.

So...

spices, they're a workout,
but they're going to make

your food taste
so much better.

Enjoy.

♪♪

-So you want to know
how to clean a baking stone?

Well, I'm going to show
you here with mine.

You don't.
You don't clean it.

It should look like this.

Breads, pizzas, rolls,

baguettes have been baked
on this stone for decades.

I've had this longer
than I've had my husband,

and all these marks on there,
they are marks of pride.

So if your baking stone
looks like this,

you're doing something right.

♪♪

-I've always eaten a lot
of hummus,

but this recipe I'm about
to make is next-level hummus.

It's really the best hummus
that I've ever had,

really and truly.

It starts with canned chickpeas.

I'm starting with two cans here,

and I'm just
going to give them a good rinse.

There's no shame in using canned
chickpeas at all for this.

We tasted dried chickpeas,
as well,

and the canned were just as good
and they're a whole lot faster.

We want them to get even softer.

This is going to help
make a super-silky hummus,

so we're going to cook them
a little bit more.

Have 6 cups of water,

and I'm also adding
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.

The baking soda is going
to raise the pH of the water

and it's going to help all of
those chickpea skins come off,

and then we're going to
get rid of those skins.

And I'll put this on the stove.

I'm going to bring this up
to a boil,

then I'll lower to a simmer.

We want to cook this
for about 20 minutes,

and then the chickpea skins
will start floating

at the top of the water

and the beans will be nice
and soft.

While these simmer,

let's start with
the other ingredients.

So I have 4 cloves of garlic
that I'm going to mince up here.

I'm going to measure out
one tablespoon of garlic

and we're going
to soak that garlic

in some fresh lemon juice.

And the lemon juice will help

to temper
the bite of the garlic.

It deactivates an enzyme
in the garlic called alliinase

and it takes away
that really harsh flavor

without killing
all the garlic's personality.

So I need 1/3 of a cup
of lemon juice.

We're going to add
the lemon juice

and a teaspoon of salt,

and we'll give that a stir.

We'll let this sit
for 10 minutes.

We'll let the lemon juice
work its magic on the garlic,

and then the beans will be just
about done in that time too.

♪♪

Alright, it's been 10 minutes
and the lemon juice

has taken the harsh bite
out of the garlic,

so we'll just strain
it away here.

And this is nice, too,
because we're not going to have

any little bits of garlic
in our hummus.

It's going to be silky,

luxuriously smooth with nothing
in there to take away from that.

Okay, I think my chickpeas
are ready now,

and let's see how they look.

You can see a lot of the skins

have started
to come off already,

which is exactly what we want.

And you can see the chickpeas
have started

to break down a little bit, too,
so that's perfect.

So I'm going to strain these.

We'll put these back
into the pot.

Now I'm just going to run some
cold water on the chickpeas.

This is going to cool them down,

and the skins are going to
start to float to the top.

And I'm just going to put
my hand in. It's cool enough.

I'm just going to give them
a little swish.

All the skins start
floating up to the top.

So I'm just going to pour
those skins off,

leave the chickpeas
themselves behind,

but try and get the skins off.

See how many came
off already?

Okay, and then
I'll do another swish.

So we're going to do this three
or four times.

You don't need to get
every last chickpea skin.

You want to get about
3/4 of a cup of them

and that'll go a long way toward
giving you a nice silky hummus.

Okay, perfect.

So all those skins just going
to dump in the sink for now.

We don't need them.
Say goodbye to those.

I want to save a couple of nice,
whole chickpeas for the garnish,

so I'm going to pick out
2 tablespoons.

Okay, so time to make
the hummus.

Let's put the chickpeas
into the food processor.

And here is that garlicky lemon
juice that we made earlier.

I'm also adding
1/4 cup of water,

which is a really
common addition to hummus.

It helps loosen it up
a little bit.

And 1/4 teaspoon of cumin.
Not too much.

We just want the cumin
to be really subtle

in the background there.

Alright. I'm going to whiz
this up for about 1 minute.

Alright, that's been about
a minute. Let's take a look.

It's getting there.
Smells good already.

Okay, so now I'm going to add
1/2 a cup of tahini,

and tahini is a really important
flavoring in hummus.

So you want to make sure to look
for one with a light color.

That means that the sesame seeds
have been lightly roasted.

If you see a tahini
that's dark in color,

that means that it's been
heavily roasted,

and those tahinis tend
to have a bitterness to them.

So we definitely prefer
a lighter color.

And then I'm also adding
2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Now, not all recipes call
for olive oil in the hummus,

but we found
that it really helped give us

that really super silky,

luxurious texture
that we wanted.

Now, I'm adding the tahini
after all the other ingredients.

And the reason I'm doing that is
because the proteins

in the tahini
tend to absorb a lot of water.

So by mixing the water
with the other ingredients,

it makes it harder for those
proteins to attach to water,

so the hummus won't thicken up
and get too sticky and clumpy.

Okay, so I'm going to let
this go for another minute.

Alright, I think it's done.

So you can see
that's pretty loose.

That might be different than
the stuff you're used to buying

in a tub at the supermarket,
but that's what we want.

If your hummus is too thick
at this point,

you can add 1 tablespoon
of water at a time

to thin it out a little bit.

Okay, the hummus is done,
so before we eat,

I'm just going to prepare
some goodies to go with it.

I have a couple of carrots,

and I like to cut them
on the bias

into nice long pieces.

So you can eat your hummus
with whatever you want.

You can have it just with pita,
which is great.

I like to put a lot
of veggies out, too.

I like to choose
a lot of different colors.

Next up,
I'm going to do some radishes,

and I like to slice them
in half like this.

And I like to leave
the little tops on

because they look
pretty that way.

And now I have
some Persian cucumbers.

They're nice and crisp,
so I just like to slice these

in half just like that
because they just look gorgeous.

okay, then I have to have pita
with my hummus,

and I like the nice
thick pita bread like this,

and I'm just going to cut
some nice wedges.

That's ready. Now let's put
our hummus on the platter.

You can see that silkiness,
see how it just flows.

That's how hummus should be.

Okay, then I just like to take
the back of a spoon

and smooth it out a little bit.
It helps it look pretty.

Okay.

Now, remember those chickpeas
that we saved?

Just going to put a couple
of whole chickpeas on top

for a nice little garnish.

Just a tiny little bit of cumin.

Ooh.

It's raining cumin.

Okay, same thing,
I have a tablespoon of parsley.

I'm just going to give hummus
a little sprinkle of parsley.

And now just a little drizzle
of extra virgin olive oil

just to finish it off.

Ooh.

I'm just doing
a simple garnish today,

but we have
two other toppings --

a spiced beef topping

and a spiced walnut topping.

They're both delicious,

and you can find the recipes
on our website.

Okay, it's time to try
my amazing hummus.

I'm going to put some
on a plate here.

And the hummus is still
a little bit warm at this point,

and that's the best way
to eat it.

So don't think you need
to chill it down.

It's delicious when it's still
a little warm from the pot.

So I'm going to try it
with a cucumber.

Mmm. Mmm.

That is amazing. It's perfect.

The garlic is very subtle,
but it's there.

Tiny bit of cumin,
and that texture.

Oh, this is really all
I need for lunch. I'm good.

I really hope you'll try
this recipe.

If you do, remember
to add baking soda

to the cooking water,

soak the garlic in lemon juice,
and use a light colored tahini.

So from "America's Test Kitchen"
at home,

our best recipe
for ultra-creamy hummus.

I'm gonna have some pita
this time.

-Thanks for watching.

You can get all of the recipes
from this season,