Festive Vegetarian Maroccan Tagine
Over a year ago
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Ingredients
- 100g dried apricots
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion
- at least 2 cloves garlic. thinly sliced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 300ml vegetable stock. or lamb stock if not being strictly vegetarian (I prefer Knorr)
- pinch saffron threads (not essential)
- salt to taste
- 3 tbsp ground almonds
- 4 large courgettes. cut into chunks
- 1 (approx 500g) butternut squash. peeled and diced
- 4 tomatoes. skinned and quarted. if you can be bothered
- 2 tsp harissa paste (not essential)
- handful chopped fresh parsley. if available
- 2 cans drained chickpeas
- 500g cous cous
Accompaniment
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Description
We made this for Christmas dinner 2008. The blend of spices makes it smell extra festive and comforting.
Method
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1
If time allows, cover apricots in 150ml boiling water and soak for 2 hours. Reserve the soaking liquid.
I prefer to roast the diced squash as I think it gives it a sweeter flavour and nicer texture. Spread it out in a roasting pan and drizzle with oil. Roast for 30 mins at 200 degrees, or until a bit crispy round the edges. The alternative is to cook the squash with the other vegetables in the tomatoes and stock.
If using roast squash, whilst it is in the oven, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large stock pot, gently fry the onion for 10 mins, until soft. Add the garlic, cinnamon, cumin and coriander and fry for 2 mins to release the flavours - it might get sticky, you might want to add a bit more oil.
Add the apricots and their soaking liquid, followed by the canned tomatoes and stock. Stir in the saffron (if using), salt, ground almonds and harissa paste, followed by the courgettes, tomatoes and squash (roasted or unroasted). Don't forget to add the chickpeas too! Leave to simmer, covered for 45 mins.
If you haven't pre-roasted the squash, check that it is tender, or at least done to your liking, at the end of the 45 mins. Leave it a bit longer if you think the squash is still too crunchy.
Prepare the cous cous as per the instructions on the packet, and dot with butter.
Serve the tagine on a bed of cous cous, topped with some chopped parsley.
Chef's Tips
We regularly make the quantity indicated and freeze in batches for tasty and satisfying week-night dinners. It would also make a brilliant standby for a special evening meal, freeze ahead to let the flavours develop.
You could substitute all or half of the chickpeas with 1.8kg diced lamb, in which case, you should seal the lamb before frying the onion, and cook in the chopped tomatoes, stock and spices for an hour before adding the vegetables
Fatoush salad dressed in lemon, mint and honey makes an excellent accompaniment for this meal.
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My boyfriend is vegetarian so I'm always looking for ideas and i came across this. We made it last night and its fantastic. I took the left overs to my sister and her boyfriends and they loved it too and asked me for the recipe, so i've sent her a link to this page. My sister, her boyfriend and I are not vegetarian but loved this this and didn't miss meat!!