Root Vegetable Tagine With Herbed Couscous
A pot of warm, fragrant root vegetables spooned over bright, lemony couscous is as good as gold on a winter day. Studded with chickpeas, raisins and meaty morsels of stewed tomatoes, this dish balances traditional tagine spices — cinnamon, coriander and turmeric — with a bright boost of ginger and lemon. Given a little time on the stove for the flavors to deepen and the vegetables to turn spoon-tender, this tagine is a worthwhile investment. Double it for a week of leftovers. You don’t need a traditional terracotta tagine to pull this dish off. A Dutch oven mimics the same high heat conduction and similarly traps steam to keep the vegetables tender and moist, and bathed in flavor from the broth.
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1large white or yellow onion, roughly chopped
- Kosher salt
- 3garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1cinnamon stick
- 1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2teaspoons ground coriander
- 2teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2cups vegetable stock
- 1medium butternut squash (about 2 1/4 pounds), peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
- 4small carrots, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
- 1(28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices, tomatoes roughly chopped
- 1lemon, peel removed in strips with a vegetable peeler and reserved, remaining lemon cut into wedges
- 1(14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ⅓cup golden or brown raisins
- 1tablespoon honey
- Black pepper
- Fresh pomegranate seeds, for garnish
- Roughly chopped parsley or cilantro leaves, for garnish
- 2 ½cups vegetable stock
- 2 ¼cups whole-wheat couscous (14 ounces)
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 1 ½teaspoons salt
- 1packed cup chopped parsley leaves
Instructions
Step 1
Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook until beginning to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cinnamon, ginger, coriander and turmeric, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spices are toasted, 2 to 3 minutes.Step 2
Add the stock, squash, carrots, tomatoes and their juices, and lemon peel. Stir to release any spice bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook until the vegetables are almost tender and break easily with a spoon, 20 to 25 minutes.Step 3
Stir in the chickpeas, raisins and honey and simmer, covered, until the chickpeas are warmed through and the raisins are plump, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.Step 4
Meanwhile, prepare the couscous: Bring the stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Combine the couscous, lemon zest and salt in a large bowl; pour the boiling stock on top. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap to steam, about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and stir in the parsley.Step 5
Divide the herbed couscous among the bowls and spoon the warm tagine on top. Sprinkle generously with pomegranate seeds and parsley or cilantro, and serve with lemon wedges on the side, for squeezing over.