It hasn’t even been a week since I’ve left Morocco, and I’ve already started craving tagine! I made my own homemade version yesterday, and it was simply delicious. While this recipe is not traditional (ex: tagine is called tagine because of the cookware it is made in, and I don’t have this at home), it is relatively easy to make and still tastes delicious. I served the tagine over a bowl of plain quinoa (again not traditional, but still healthy and yummy!)
Here it goes:
Ingredients:
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks,
- 1 eggplant, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 zucchini, halved lengthways and cut into half-moons
- 1 yellow squash, halved lengthways and cut into half-moons
- 1 bell pepper, stalk and seeds removed, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 5 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 400g tin of chopped tomoatoes
- 3 tsp of tagine seasoning (or substitute 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, and 1 tbsp harissa paste)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 cup of cooked chickpeas (or 400g canned chickpeas)
- 1 tbsp of raisins (or chopped dried apricots)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup of vegetable broth (or 1 cup of water)
Instructions:
- Mix sweet potato, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper and carrots in a large bowl. Drizzle over 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with plenty of salt and pepper
- Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the vegetables in batches and fry, stirring and turning regularly, for 3-4 minutes, or until lightly browned.
- Heat the remaining oil (1 tbsp) in another large, non-stick frying pan. Add the onions and fry until the softened, stirring regularly. Add the garlic and tagine seasoning and fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes, honey, raisins and chickpeas until well combined. Add the vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes
- Cover and cook for 30 min on medium heat. Then stir in vegetable broth until well combined and heat for another 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
- Serve with freshly cooked couscous, rice or quinoa and enjoy!