This vegan seven-vegetable tagine found inspiration in a restaurant overlooking Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakech.
What is a Vegetable Tagine?
A tagine is a North African dish named after an earthenware pot used to cook it. Traditionally, a tagine pot has a circular shallow base with a cone-shaped lid. The design benefits slow braising of tougher cuts of meat by allowing steam to circulate around the dish and keeping the contents moist while the pot slowly heats. This prevents evaporation, resulting in a succulent, delicious stew.
While Tagines are often associated with slowly cooked meats such as lamb and chicken, this tagine maxes out your 5-a-day and more. The slow cooking process allows flavours to mould together. While this vegetable tagine will have a naturally shorter cooking time, it will still allow an infusion period. Serve this tagine with couscous or bread.
Selected Ingredients for a Vegetable Tagine
Ras el Hanout – Ras el Hanout is a spice mixture from Morrocco. As with most things, Ras el Hanout has no set recipe. The name is Arabic and translates to “head of the shop.” The name comes from its status as a curated mix of the merchants’ best spices. I’ve listed it here as I intend to use my own spice mix. However, you can use a store-bought blend or experiment with your preferred flavours.
Tinned Chickpeas – These precooked chickpeas make the perfect tool for a quickly cooked dinner. Using them saves on soaking time and a lengthy cooking time.
Dried Apricots – Dried apricots are more readily available in the UK than their fresher counterparts. They are sweet and melt into the final stew, leaving behind a fruity sweetness that is easy to overdo.
Why Not Add Chicken?
You can also add chicken to the recipe by roasting whole thighs marinated in Ras-el-Hanout; Roast the thighs at 200C for 35-40 minutes until cooked through.
Seven Vegetable Tagine
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Onion Peeled and Chopped
- 2 Carrots Peeled and Diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves Peeled and Crushed
- Thumb Sized Piece of Ginger Chopped
- 2 Mixed Peppers Deseeded and Chopped
- 1 Courgettes Chopped
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 Tsp Ras-el-Hanout
- 1 Tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 Tsp Ground Coriander
- 2 Tbsp Tomato Puree
- 500 ml Vegetable Stock
- 400 g Tin of Chickpeas Drained
- 100 g Dried Apricots Chopped
- 150 g Green Beans Cut in Half
- Salt / Pepper to taste
- Flaked Almonds toasted to serve.
- 5 g Chopped Parsley to serve.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C or 140C Fan or 325F or Gas 3
- Heat the oil in a casserole dish with a lid over medium heat and cook the onions for 5-10 minutes until soft and begin to brown.
- Add the carrots and brown the carrots slightly.
- Add the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, garlic and ginger and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the peppers and courgettes.
- Stir in the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, ras-el hanout, ground cumin, and coriander. Cover with the stock and cover the pan.
- Place the pan in the centre of the preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- Add the drained chickpeas, dried apricots, and green beans. Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes until the chickpeas are hot throughout and green beans have turned tender.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the herbs and toasted almonds.
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