Vegetable and Chickpea Tagine

Name: Vegetable and Chickpea Tagine
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: Morocco
Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil; 2 onions, sliced; 3 cloves garlic, chopped; 20 g (1 in piece) fresh ginger, grated; 2 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp sweet paprika; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 pinch saffron threads, soaked in 2 tbsp hot water; optional; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) butternut squash, peeled, in 3 cm (1¼ in) chunks; 2 carrots, in thick slices; 1 zucchini, in thick half-moons; 1 can (14 oz) chopped tomatoes, 400 g; 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, 400 g, drained; 400 ml (1⅔ cups) Vegetable Stock, or water; 80 g (½ cup) dried apricots, halved; ½ Preserved Lemons, rind only, finely chopped; or zest of 1 lemon; 8 g (1⅓ tsp) fine sea salt, plus more to taste; 15 g (½ cup) cilantro and parsley, chopped; 30 g (¼ cup) toasted flaked almonds

Warmly spiced, sweet and sour, with apricots and preserved lemon

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 25 min
Total: 1 h 15 min
Level: Easy

A tagine is a slow, fragrant braise. This vegetable version layers squash, carrots and chickpeas with ginger, cinnamon, cumin and saffron, and balances the sweetness of dried apricots with salty, sharp preserved lemon. A heavy pot works as well as a clay tagine.

Ingredients

3 tbspolive oil
2onionssliced
3 clovesgarlicchopped
20 gfresh ginger (1 in piece)grated
2 tspground cumin
1 tspground coriander
1 tspground cinnamon
1 tspsweet paprika
½ tspground turmeric
1 pinchsaffron threadssoaked in 2 tbsp hot water; optional
1 tbsptomato paste
500 gbutternut squash (1 lb 2 oz)peeled, in 3 cm (1¼ in) chunks
2carrotsin thick slices
1zucchiniin thick half-moons
1 canchopped tomatoes (14 oz)400 g
1 canchickpeas (15 oz)400 g, drained
400 mlVegetable Stock (1⅔ cups)or water
80 gdried apricots (½ cup)halved
½Preserved Lemonsrind only, finely chopped; or zest of 1 lemon
8 gfine sea salt (1⅓ tsp)plus more to taste
15 gcilantro and parsley (½ cup)chopped
30 gtoasted flaked almonds (¼ cup)

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free
Allergens: tree nuts, celery, sulphites
Origin: Morocco
Season: Autumn, Winter

Method

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Cook the onions with a pinch of salt until soft and golden, 10 minutes. 10 min
Add the garlic, ginger and all the ground spices and stir 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute more. 2 min
Add the squash and carrots and stir to coat in the spices.
Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, stock, apricots, saffron with its water, and the salt. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for 25 minutes. 25 min
Add the zucchini and preserved lemon and simmer uncovered until all the vegetables are tender but not collapsing and the sauce has thickened, 15 minutes. 15 min
Taste for salt. Scatter with herbs and almonds and serve with couscous or bread.

Why it works

Spices bloomed in oil before liquid goes in release their aromatic oils and lose their raw, dusty edge. Gentle covered cooking softens the dense vegetables without breaking them, and the zucchini goes in late because it cooks much faster. Preserved lemon brings salt and a floral bitterness that cuts through the sweetness.

Common mistakes

Adding all the vegetables at once: the zucchini turns to mush.
Boiling hard: the squash falls apart. Keep it at a gentle simmer.

Variations

Spice blend: Replace the individual spices with 1 tbsp ras el hanout (see Four Spice Blends).
With harissa: Stir 1–2 tsp harissa into the sauce for heat.

Make ahead and storage

Keeps 4 days in the fridge and 3 months frozen; it improves overnight.

Notes

Serving with couscous adds gluten. Stock cubes may contain celery. Without the almonds, the dish is nut-free.