Chicken Tajine with Olives, Peppers & Tomatoes
Chicken cooked with olives, peppers and tomatoes. At the table, couscous and mango chutney (achar el amba) offer another way to serve a chicken tajine.
Arabic FoodAlgerian roots. A generous table.
Warm spices, green herbs and the art of sharing.
Honeyed Labneh
Jeweled apricots and dates, savory toasted walnut-olive-herb crumble, kesra shards, pomegranate molasses and a dusting of cinnamon.
North African connections · Tara’s kitchenA meeting of
A meeting of
sweet, savory
and aromatic.
Honeyed labneh opens the collection with fruit, herbs, toasted walnuts and crisp kesra. Each element has a role: creamy, bright, gently spiced or crisp.
Across these pages, the meal moves from a small plate to the warmth of a tajine, the grain beneath a vegetable dish and the sauce offered alongside.
Inquire about this collection ↗Our family’s Algerian connectionThe story begins
The story begins
with our roots.
My mother, my husband John and I share southern Algerian ancestry. Through our family’s genealogy, including Ancestry.com, we have traced that connection to southwestern Algeria.
That heritage is one of the starting points for this cooking. Olive oil, fresh herbs and warm spices move through the collection, alongside the grain dishes, brochettes and slow-cooked preparations that bring people around a shared table.
Through these dishes, I explore the connections between North African cooking, the Mediterranean and the wider Arabic-speaking world. Here, I keep the regional names and the particular preparations close: Algerian wedding rice, kesra, chermoula, harissa, kefta and the tajine.
The pleasure is communal. A sauce is passed, a grain dish is shared, and each person finds something to carry into the next bite.
The vessel & the cookingTajine. Tagine.
Tajine. Tagine.
The form shapes
the meal.
The name refers to both a cooking vessel and the dish prepared in it. The wide base and conical lid are suited to slow cooking; the lid helps moisture condense and return to the food.
In this collection, the tajine holds chicken, meatballs or a stew. Couscous may sit alongside, while olives, vegetables, fruit and warm spices offer different ways to compose the meal.
Read about the vessel’s design ↗The TARA-PERI table
Tajines & Slow Cooking
A shared dish at the center of the table. Chicken, meatballs, merguez and an Algerian-spiced meat and potato stew take their own forms within this part of the collection.
Chicken Meatball Tajine
Chicken meatballs in a richly colored sauce, served as a tajine.
Tajine Jelbana
Algerian-spiced meat and potato stew, shown with aromatic vegetables. Chakchouka (شكشوكة) with fresh cheese is another accompaniment in this collection.
Merguez Meatball Stew
Merguez meatballs in a stew: the sausage’s warmth carried through the sauce.
The TARA-PERI table
Brochettes, Kefta & the Grill
Herbs, spices and the finish of the grill: chicken brochettes, kefta, merguez and a steak completed with chermoula.
Kefta · Brochettes & Meatballs
Ground beef or lamb, formed as brochettes or meatballs. Both preparations are shown together.
Chicken Brochettes
Choose our Green Goddess preparation or an Algerian marinade for these chicken skewers.
Merguez
Our lamb-and-beef sausage with cumin, paprika, harissa, parsley and garlic. Serve grilled or pan-fried, or use in tajines and couscous dishes.
Grilled Steak with Chermoula
Grilled steak with chermoula, sweet potato and tomato salad.
The TARA-PERI table
Harissa, Chermoula & Sauces
Three distinct preparations: the heat of a pepper condiment, the freshness of green herbs and citrus, and the sweetness and spice of a creamy sauce.
Handmade Harissa
Our entirely handmade, vegan North African pepper condiment, available in mild and spicy versions. Serve as a spread, dipping sauce or cooking base.
Algerian Chermoula
Cilantro and parsley, garlic, lemon and spices. Our chermoula accompanies grilled meat and seafood, roasted vegetables, stews and grain dishes.
Sauce Algérienne
A creamy, sweet-and-spicy sauce with mustard, shallot, vinegar and chili or harissa. Variations may also include tomato, anchovies or capers.
The TARA-PERI table
Rice, Couscous & Vegetables
Wedding rice with fruit and toasted nuts, couscous with roasted vegetables, and vegetables dressed with chermoula. The grain and the garden share the table.
Algerian Wedding Rice
Rice with apricots, dates or currants, toasted almonds or cashews, and warm spices.
Couscous with Roasted Vegetables
A couscous pan with roasted vegetables, a two-serving presentation and Perlée Couscous aux Légumes Grillés, shown together.
Vegetables with Chermoula
Roasted vegetables finished with the green herbs, citrus and spices of chermoula.
The TARA-PERI table
Small Plates & Savory Pastry
Labneh, golden potato pancakes, baked feta pastry and a frites omelette. The honeyed labneh that opens this collection sets the tone for these contrasting textures.
Maakouda with Labneh & Chermoula
Potato pancakes served with labneh and chermoula, bringing a creamy and herbaceous contrast to their golden surface.
Brik au Fromage de Feta
Baked feta pastry finished with honey: a crisp, savory parcel with a sweet finish.
Frites Omelette
A French-fry omelette seasoned with coriander and fresh parsley, made with or without diced or sliced vegetables.
The TARA-PERI table
A Sweet Finish
Fig jam and baklava complete the collection: two small pleasures with distinct textures and their own place at the table.
Homemade Fig Jam
A sweet condiment from our kitchen, kept under its own name in the collection.
Baklava
A pastry finish from the collection, with a small, sculptural presentation.
The Saharan landscapeA symbol of
A symbol of
resilience.
For me, the fennec fox is an image of adaptability and endurance, a connection to the Saharan landscape that forms part of Algeria’s identity.
The fennec lives across the Sahara and other arid regions of North Africa. Its large ears help dissipate heat—one of the adaptations that makes it so distinctive.
Discover the fennec with the Smithsonian ↗
★★★★★
“Tara is one of the most talented chefs I know!”
dalya jabra
Read on Google ↗A place at
our table.
Explore the collection, discover the family behind it, or begin a conversation about the dishes that caught your attention.