Cooking with Chef Jim Copening | Seafood tagine a light summer dish

The gulf waters along our beautiful Florida coastline inspire me to cook foods from the sea, especially at this time of year.

Arts & Eats cuisine celebrates international flavors, so we created a variation on the classic Moroccan tagine using clams and shrimp. The seafood tagine that I'm sharing my recipe for is the most aromatic and delicious dish you'll eat all summer (and maybe all year).

We've had lamb shank tagine as a menu special for some time, and it's been very popular with guests. The dish is typically made with dried fruits, vegetables and seasonings such as cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, paprika and cardamom. The dish gets its name from the vessel it's cooked in. A tagine lid is shaped like a ceramic cone-shaped hat, while the bottom (also ceramic) is the "pot" used to simmer the meat and all the ingredients.

Since the tagine is ceramic, in most cases it can be used in the oven or on top of the stove. If you buy one, be sure to check whether the vessel can withstand direct heat from a stovetop. The cooking technique works by condensation. As the ingredients are heated with the tagine lid on, moisture from the rising steam inside the pot, coats the inside of the ceramic surface. This moisture then drips back down into the dish keeping it moist and flavorful. The seafood tagine is cooked on the stovetop.

We use single-serving tagines made for us by our own Village of the Arts potter, Eileen Van Lieshout. Her gallery, eileenVLpottery, is on 10th Street West in the Village. Her website is eileenvlpottery.com. She creates tagines that are glazed with vivid colors that match the artful flavor of the village.

Arts & Eats will be closed in August so we

can explore the flavors of cuisine along the East coast, up to New England. You can bet we'll have some amazing seafood up there.

Seafood Tagine

1/2 cup olive oil

12 cloves fresh garlic, chopped

1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped

1/2 cup white wine

40 little neck clams

4 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 head of broccoli florets (or other vegetable of your liking)

12 extra large shrimp

1 pound angel hair pasta cooked al dente

Basil or other fine herbs to garnish

In a large tagine or other deep cooking vessel with a lid, add all ingredients except for the shrimp and pasta and cover. Cook on stovetop on medium to low heat. When the clams open (3-5 minutes), add the shrimp and cooked pasta. Cook for another 3-5 minutes until the shrimp turns a pink color. Garnish with fresh herbs. Serve in the tagine. Serves 4.

Chef Jim Copening, of Arts & Eats, can be reached at artsandeats@gmail.com. The restaurant is at 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton, in the Village of the Arts. Information: 941-201-6647 or artsandeatsfl@gmail.com.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cooking with Chef Jim Copening | Seafood tagine a light summer dish."