Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

FoodArts is my guilty pleasure. I check the mail so often, surely the mail man thinks I’m stalking him! FoodArts is an industry magazine that has news, recipes, and the latest innovations in food and equipment happening now. Ok so maybe it’s not for everyone, but I really enjoy it. I usually pore over the pages and marvel at how quickly the industry changes, I try to find old classmates in the ” deep dish” section, and wish I could recreate the amazing recipes at home. Sigh.

Some of the recipes are simple and can be recreated; others have ingredients not available to the home cook like gum arabic and gellan gum; some use techniques like sous-vide cooking and pressure cooking that require special equipment; but mostly the recipes are just time consuming. The magazine is not geared to the home cook, so none of this should come as a surprise. I just can’t really justify spending 3 days on a dish when I know for sure that both the hubby and the munchkin would be happy with pasta, tomato sauce, and cheese. Oh wait! We’re not eating cheese right now so I guess just pasta and sauce.

Yes, we’re still doing the vegan thing, except for one day a week. The one day a week has really helped us to not get frustrated, and we usually try not to go overboard and pig out. With the exception of this week, when we ate at Trattoria Neapolis in Pasadena. The chef, Bryant Wigger, is a friend of ours and we couldn’t resist working our way through the menu. It has taken me the rest of the week to recover from my food coma.

This recipe for Moroccan Vegetable Tagine is one of the best plant-based recipes we have tried yet. The flavors are intense and perfectly balanced. You can find the original recipe in the FoodArts issue of September 2012. It was created by Chef Laurence Jossel of Nopa in San Francisco. I have adapted it to fit my current needs and to make it more accessible to the home cook.

The Recipe: Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

4 from 3 votes

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Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Dora Stone

Ingredients

Spice Mix

• 1 tbsp. Cumin, seeds
• 1 tbsp. Fennel, Seeds
• 1/4 tsp. Crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tbsp. Salt, kosher
• 1/2 tbsp. Black Pepper, ground

Tagine

• 2 cups Chickpeas, canned, drained
• 1 can (14 oz.) Tomatoes, diced, canned
• 4 cups Vegetable broth
• 1 Orange, zest removed in wide strips
• 1 Lemon, zest removed in wide strips
• 1 Bay leaf, dried
• 5 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Red onion, sliced
• 2 Fennel bulb, sliced thick
• 1/8 tsp. Saffron
• 4 Carrots, large, cut into ½ in. chunks
• 2 Garlic, cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp. Thyme fresh, chopped
• 1 lb. Yukon gold or fingerling potatoes halved
• 1 head Cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 head Broccoli, cut into florets, blanched
• 2 Zucchini, cut into ½ in. rounds
• 1 cup Corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup Green beans, blanched

Garnish

• 2 cups Green olives
• 1 cup Almonds, toasted, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup Cilantro, fresh, chopped
• 1/4 cup Mint, fresh, chopped
• 1/2 cup Harissa sauce,
• 1 cup Greek yogurt. (Optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Combine vegetable broth, chickpeas, lemon and orange zests, can of tomatoes, and bay leaf in a large pot. Set aside.
3. Combine spice mix in a small sauté pan set over medium heat and toast. Remove spices from pan and set aside. Once cool, grind in spice grinder.
4. In a large bowl, combine red onion, fennel, 2 tbsp. of oil, half the spice mixture, saffron, and toss. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and roast in oven for 20 min. Remove from oven and place in the pot with the chickpeas.
5. In the same bowl, combine potatoes, thyme, 1 tbsp. of olive oil and second half of the spice mixture. Place on a sheet pan with parchment paper and roast in oven for 35 min. Add to pot with chickpeas.
6. In the same bowl, combine carrots, garlic cloves, and 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Place on a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place cut zucchini and cauliflower separately in the same sheet pan as the carrots, drizzle with 1 tbsp. of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 30 min. Add to pot with chickpeas.
7. Add blanched broccoli, blanched green beans, and corn to the pot. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Bring ingredients in the pot to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 min. or until vegetables are cooked through.
9. Serve in bowls with couscous and garnish with almonds, harissa, yogurt, olives, mint, and cilantro.

Chef's Notes

Serve with whole wheat or plain couscous or rice