Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

First some Wiki Gyan: “Tagines in Moroccan cuisine are slow-cooked stews braised at low temperatures, resulting in tender meat with aromatic vegetables and sauce. They are traditionally cooked in the tagine pot, whose cover has a knob-like handle at its top to facilitate removal. While simmering, the cover can be lifted off without the aid of a mitten, enabling the cook to inspect the main ingredients, add vegetables, move things around, or add additional braising liquid”.

I would love to buy one of those cute looking Tagines, but I’m not sure if I’m going to use it that often to be spending money on it. Well anyway I used by saucepot to make this delicious vegetable tagine that tasted awesome the next day after all the flavors had a chance to marry.

Recipe is adapted from vegetarian times. I changed it a little bit since I didn’t have some of the ingredients on hand. Also the recipe uses the oven to cook the vegetables, but I used the good ol’ stove as I was pressed for time. It took about 30-40 minutes to make this very filling and nutritious dish.

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times
Ingredients:
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Sweet potato - 1 medium, peeled and cubed
Carrot - 1 medium, peeled and chopped
Green Beans - 1 cup, chopped (I used frozen green beans)
Broccoli - chopped into florets, about 2 cups
Chickpeas - 1 16 oz. can, drained and rinsed
Tomato puree - 1 cup
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Ginger - 1" piece, minced
Vegetable Stock - 1 cup
Cinnamon stick - 1" piece
Ground cumin - 1tsp
Ground Coriander - 1tsp
Sweet paprika - 1tsp
Cayenne pepper - 1/2 tsp
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tbsp oil in a large sauce pot; add onions, garlic and ginger and cinnamon stick; cook until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Add ground cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper. Saute till the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add all the veggies, cover and cook till they are slightly tender, about 6-8 minutes.
• Add tomatoes & stock, bring to a boil; lower the heat and simmer until the veggies are completely tender, but not mushy; about 8-10 minutes.
• Just 5 minutes before the stew is done, add the chickpeas. Stir in chopped parsley before serving.

I served this hearty stew with whole wheat couscous for a complete wholesome dinner.

Only 5 more days left for A.W.E.D-Morocco, rush in your entries before the end of day Friday, Oct 2nd.