Moroccan tagine

While traditional Moroccan tagines feature some sort of meat, the star of the show is really the spices and chickpeas are a perfect meat replacement. This recipe is adapted from Rainbow Plant Life and serves 6. It’s a bit time-consuming, but not difficult!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

• 6 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 cups vegetable broth

• 3 cups peeled and finely diced butternut squash

• 2 x 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

• 1 x 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes

• 3 to 6 dried apricots or dried dates, chopped

• 1 medium lemon, zested + 1 tablespoon juice

• 1 big handful of flat-leaf parsley (or cilantro) leaves and tender stems, chopped

Spice Mix

• 1 tablespoon ras el hanout (Moroccan spice mix)

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin

• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

• ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, ½ tsp for some good heat)

• ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper

• pinch of ground cloves

Yogurt Sauce for serving (optional)

• 5 ounces (140g) plain vegan yogurt

• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, more to taste depending on your yogurt brand

• ½ teaspoon ground coriander

• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Arrange an oven rack to fit a Dutch oven (or tagine pan, if you have one) or braising pan.

2. Stir together the spices for the Spice Mix.

3. Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions and season with a pinch of salt. Cook until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes, adding a splash of water as needed to deglaze the pan and prevent the onions from burning. Add the bell pepper and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Add the garlic and spice mix and stir vigorously for 1 minute.

5. Pour in some of the broth to deglaze the pot and scrape up any browned bits. Add the remaining broth, squash, chickpeas, bay leaves, salt, tomatoes, and apricots or dates. Stir, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, and stir again to combine. Place the lid on the pan and ensure it’s fitted tightly. NOTE: If you don’t have a lid for your pan, cover tightly with foil.

6. Transfer to the oven and bake, covered, for 40 minutes, or until squash is tender and the mixture is thick and stew-like.

7. Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce (or make 1-2 days ahead of time and refrigerate). In a bowl, stir together the yogurt, lemon juice, salt to taste, and coriander. Refrigerate until ready to use.

8. For the best flavor, cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in half of the zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste, adding more lemon zest or juice as desired.

9. Serve in bowls topped with yogurt sauce, chopped parsley or cilantro, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

NOTES

• It’s important to finely dice the squash so it cooks through in the time allotted. The easiest method: cut butternut squash in half, crosswise and use the top skinny neck portion of the squash. Peel it with a vegetable peeler. Now, stand the squash up on a cutting board, and use a large, sharp knife to cut the squash into slabs from top to bottom. From here, it’s easy to finely dice the slabs.

• Ras el hanout is the heart of a tagine! A store-bought version works just and you can find it at well-stocked grocery stores like Whole Foods, spice shops, Middle Eastern markets, or online. If you can’t find it, there are recipes online or you could just increase all the other spices by around 50%.

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