Programme seven In the seventh episode of French Odyssey, Rick Stein fulfilled a childhood dream by visiting the French Foreign Legion's canteen in Castelnaudary. A spicy tagine, roast kid and tripe made for an interesting menu this week.

In this article

Cooking tagines Rick Stein's Lamb tagine

Recipes from French Odyssey Details of Rick's journey

Programme seven

Having passed the halfway point along his journey, Rick's enthusiam for barge-life in France showed no signs of waning. His hunger for French cusine was as strong as ever and a hearty three-course lunch consisting of goats' cheese, roast kid with potato gratin dauphinoise and strawberries, slipped down with ease - although he confessed that such a lunch couldn't be eaten in any less than two hours.

A traditional French dish of tripe cooked with veal shin may not be to everyone's liking, but Rick couldn't get enough of the stuff when he visited a local chef who shared his recipe. He met the author of 'Signs of the Heart: Love and Death in Languedoc', Christopher Hope, who gave Rick an insight into the local people and way of life in the south of France.

But it was the trip to the French Foreign Legion's canteen and a meeting with some of the 139 nationalities there, that fulfilled a lifelong dream for Rick. It inspired him to create his tagine recipe with lamb shanks and sweet potatoes. "It was the North African association that interested me most," he explained.

"My first experience of eating tagine was in Paris in the early 70s. It arrived with 14 sparklers stuck into a big pile of couscous and my lasting memory of a very indifferent dish is the smell of gunpowder," said Rick, who added that a subsequent trip to Morocco did nothing to improve his enthusiam for the dish. But all that changed when he started frequenting North African restaurants in the south of France. "I suddenly realised what a wonderfully aromatic way of stewing meat a tagine is."

Tagine basically means 'stew' and the dish derives its name from the thick earthenware pot, topped with a pointed lid, in which it is traditionally cooked. Tagines are cooked gently and slowly to condense the flavours and create a rich, aromatic sauce. There are endless variations and the addition of honey, dried apricots or quinces to meat, poultry, fish or vegetables, along with smoky spices results in an intense, sweet-savoury stew. Lamb is a popular ingredient and lends itself perfectly to the slow cooking of the dish. Preserved lemons are often added and the exotic spice mix of ras-el-hanout is great way to ensure an authentic flavour.

Rick Stein said: "Virtually anything can be cooked in a tagine but it seems this sweet and savoury combination has particularly captured the European imagination. And you don't have to use a tagine pot for cooking this dish; a casserole dish will work just as well."

• Moroccan lamb tagine with ras el hanout and couscous

This dish and other recipes cooked by Rick on the programme feature in a book accompanying the series. Rick Stein's French Odyssey is published by BBC Books. RRP £20. ISBN 0563522135.

Here are some variations on tagine recipes from BBC Food:

• Moroccan fish tagine by Rick Stein
• Chicken tagine by Neil Perry
• Lamb, shallot and date tagine by Paul Merrett
• Moroccan fish tagine with coriander couscous by Mike Robinson

Not all the Rick Stein recipes featured on the programme are available on the website owing to copyright issues. However the recipes cooked by Rick on the programme feature in a book accompanying the series. Rick Stein's French Odyssey published by BBC Books. RRP £20. ISBN 0563522135.

You can trace Rick's journey through southern France on his website, which features an interactive map and directory of the places he visited.