A tagine-inspired recipe duo

Not so long ago, I have had the pleasure of speaking to Nargisse Benkabbou, Moroccan chef and food writer, for my MotherFood podcast (you can listen to the interview here). And this conversation reminded me just how much I love a good tagine! At the same time it evoked a genuine sense of confusion as to why this fragrant one pot wonder doesn’t appear in our kitchen more often! So I went through a bit of a tagine-crazed phase, cooking all sorts of veggies in a fragrant saffron and turmeric broth using my beloved baby pink Le Creuset casserole. Here are the two versions, but I would love for you to inject your own creative vibe into these and cook other veggie combos too!

Version 1: the basic

Ingredients
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 onions
1 garlic clove, minced
4 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
large handful of apricots
1 tin of chickpeas, drained
500ml chicken/meat/veg stock
zest of one small orange & lemon

spices
2 tsp of ground ginger
1 tsp of ground turmeric
1 tsp of ground cumin
a small pinch of saffron strands

garnish
fresh herbs
1 tsp of harissa (optional)
large handful of toasted almonds

Method
Heat up the olive oil in a large casserole.
Cut the onion in think strips and fry with some salt on medium heat for 6 minutes.
Add the minced or finely chopped garlic and carrots.
Add all the spices up to the saffron strands and cook under a lid for 5 minutes.

Next add the chickpeas and roughly chopped apricots, top with broth, add the saffron, and cook on a med-low heat under a lid for 20 minutes or until the carrots are nice and soft.

A few minutes prior to taking it off the heat, add the zest of orange and lemon.

Serve with some bulgur wheat or couscous and garnish with roasted & roughly chopped almonds, harissa and fresh herbs!

Version 2: when you have more stuff

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, cut into semi circles
2 carrots, peeled & cut into rounds
1/4 white cabbage, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/2 squash, peeled and cubed
1 tin of chickpeas
500ml chicken/meat/veg stock
1/2 cup of frozen peas

spices
2 tsp of ground ginger
1 tsp of ground turmeric
1 tsp of ground cumin
a small pinch of saffron strands

garnish
fresh herbs
1 tsp of harissa (optional)
large handful of toasted almonds, roughly chopped

Method
Heat up the olive oil in a casserole and fry the onion with a pinch of salt on medium heat for 8 minutes.
Add the carrots and all the spices up to the saffron strands and cook further for 5-8 minutes, adding a splash of water if they start to catch.
Add the cabbage, the squash, and the chickpeas, top with the broth, add the saffron, and cook on medium heat for 25-30 minutes, or until all the veggies are cooked through and have soaked up the golden broth. Finally add the frozen peas, cook for another minute, and turn off the heat.

Serve with couscous, and garnish with toasted almonds, harissa and fresh herbs!