Moroccan Chickpea Tagine with Quinoa Couscous

It’s no secret that the husband and I LOVE to travel.

When we were in Sydney this summer, we stopped at a wonderful little Moroccan / Mediterranean restaurant, where we ordered a bunch of our favorite dishes, including a flavorful, traditional Moroccan tagine.

A “tagine” is actually a unique ceramic or clay vessel, used to slow-cook stews and other dishes. But the word “tagine” also refers to the delicious dish which is slow-cooked inside the vessel. Typically a tagine is a rich savory stew of meat or vegetables, cooked to a buttery tenderness.

And while I love a good vegetable tagine, I always wish that the tagines I’ve gotten at most restaurants have more protein in them (often vegetable tagines, while extremely succulent, are mainly just vegetables cooked in a spicy sauce).

I decided to make my own version this past weekend, to recreate the traditional tagine into something that’s light and healthy, but BIG on taste.

To save a bit of time on the slow cooking, I turned to three of my favorite spice blends: 1) Ras El Hanout 2) Shawarma Spice Blend and 3) Curry Powder.

These spice blends made the dish taste like it had been simmering on the stove for hours, but it really only took an hour to make from start to finish.

For some added protein, I included chickpeas and served it with a quinoa “couscous.” Mint and dried apricots gave some added sweetness and dimension, and a sprinkling of sliced almonds over the top was perfect for a bit of crunch and texture.

The Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dried quinoa, cooked with 1 cup of water
• 8 dried apricots, chopped
• 1 red onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 zucchini, diced
• 2 carrots, diced (optional)
• 1 sweet potato, diced
• 1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 15oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 4-8 oz veggie broth
• 2-2.5 tsp Ras El Hanout
• 1 tsp Shawarma Spice Blend
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne powder
• A sprinkle of cinnamon
• Fresh mint, chopped
• Sliced almonds

The Directions

The husband loved this dish.

He went back for seconds, and thirds.

The husband actually loves regular potatoes in tagines and curries – so I decided to substitute in sweet potatoes / yams instead of regular potatoes for the same texture, but even more flavor and good-for-you nutrition.

I think he might have liked the sweet potatoes even better than regular potatoes

And I just loved the great color this entire dish had.

It was irresistible.

Tagged as: Cooking, dinner, gluten free, Healthy, Indian, Recipes, vegan, Vegetarian