Moroccan vegetable tagine, done properly

Six degrees on the thermometer in Hamilton this morning and the exhaust fan over my stove was working overtime by seven. That’s a tagine morning if ever there was one – the kind of low, patient simmer that fills the whole kitchen with cumin and cinnamon before anyone’s had their coffee. I’ve made this one more times than I can count, in restaurant kitchens and at home, and it still surprises me how much flavour you get out of tinned chickpeas and a bit of pumpkin if you treat the spices with respect.

Why a vegetable tagine earns its spot midweek

This is the kind of dinner I keep coming back to when I’m trying to eat properly without turning every meal into a production. It’s vegetable-forward, it’s got a decent hit of plant protein from the chickpeas, and it doesn’t need meat to taste like it means business. If you’re working out what a balanced plate actually looks like on a Tuesday night, this is close to it – plenty of vegetables, a proper protein source, some good fats from the oil and almonds, and carbs kept sensible if you serve it over couscous rather than swimming in it. The Australian Dietary Guidelines bang on about getting more vegetable variety into the week, and a tagine is an honest way to do that without anyone at the table noticing they’re eating their five serves.

Get the spice base right or don’t bother

This is where most home versions fall over. People chuck a tablespoon of curry powder in and wonder why it tastes flat. Toast your spices in the oil with the onion and garlic for a good minute before anything wet goes in – that’s non-negotiable. Cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, a bit of turmeric, all of it needs heat to wake up properly. I’ll admit some of the jarred ras el hanout blends you get at the supermarket taste like carpet dust that’s been left in a cupboard since the Howard government, so if you can get to a proper spice stall – there’s a good one on Beaumont Street in Hamilton I use – do that instead and grind your own mix. It keeps for months in a jar and it’s worth the ten minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large brown onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
• 1 tbsp harissa paste, plus extra to taste
• 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 500g pumpkin (kent or butternut), peeled, cut into 3cm chunks
• 2 carrots, peeled, cut into thick batons
• 1 zucchini, cut into thick half-moons
• 400g tin diced tomatoes
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 8 dried apricots, halved
• 1/4 preserved lemon, rind only, finely sliced (or the zest of 1 lemon)
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Small handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted
• Couscous or crusty bread, to serve

Method

1. Heat the pan well first – a heavy-based pot or a tagine if you’ve got one – over medium heat, and add the olive oil.
2. Cook the onion for 5-6 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute until fragrant.
3. Add all the spices and the harissa paste, and toast for a minute, stirring constantly. Don’t let them catch or the whole pot turns bitter.
4. Add the pumpkin and carrots, stir to coat everything in the spice mix, and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes, stock, apricots and preserved lemon. Bring to a simmer.
6. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently for 25 minutes, until the pumpkin is nearly tender.
7. Add the zucchini and chickpeas, and simmer uncovered for a further 10-12 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.
8. Season to your taste. Season with salt and pepper, and add more harissa if you want more heat.
9. Rest off the heat for 5 minutes, then scatter with coriander and toasted almonds.
10. Serve over couscous or with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

How I serve it at home

Couscous is the traditional call and I won’t argue with it – steam it, fluff it with a fork, done. But if you’re watching your carbs or just fancy something different, this sits beautifully over roasted cauliflower instead. I’d point you to my roast cauliflower steaks with tahini for the method, just skip the tahini dressing and spoon the tagine over the top instead. A dollop of natural yoghurt on the side cuts through the spice nicely, and don’t skimp on the almonds – that bit of crunch is doing more work than people give it credit for.

A decent swap if you’re short on pumpkin

Sweet potato works fine in place of pumpkin, roughly the same weight, though it’ll break down a touch softer so keep an eye on the timing. If you want to bulk it out with meat rather than more vegetables, a few hundred grams of diced lamb shoulder browned off first and simmered longer will get you close to the slow-braised style I do for my slow-braised lamb with white beans, though that’s really a different beast and a longer cook. For a straight vegetarian version with a similar spice profile, my spiced chickpea and pumpkin stew is the closer cousin – less liquid, more of a stew than a tagine, but the same instinct behind it.

Worth the Sunday

This isn’t a fifteen-minute dinner and I won’t pretend otherwise – the spices need their moment and the pumpkin needs time to soften properly. But it freezes well, it reheats better than most things, and one Sunday batch will see you through two or three weeknights if your pantry’s set up for it. Have a look at how I organise mine in my piece on a healthy weeknight pantry setup if tinned chickpeas and spice jars aren’t already living somewhere sensible in your kitchen. The CSIRO’s work on fibre and gut health is one more reason to lean on legumes like this through the colder months, but honestly, I just like the way the kitchen smells by the time it’s done.

– Dave Forsythe, Golden Door Living kitchen