Vegetarian Moroccan tagine

 

Our Moroccan cooking class at Relish Mama always excites me. I just love the flavours of Morocco and I find myself adding more and more to this flavour packed cooking class menu all whilst I find it near impossible to remove any of the other dishes that are a much loved part of this class. Needless to say that the time we eat at the table gets a little later each class but no one seems to mind and the fact that we stop to munch on our homemade pitta’s with our harissa and a glass of wine halfway through, makes us work that little bit harder for the feast that is yet to come.

This Vegetarian tagine has such warmth and such flavour. The meat tagine’s seem to dominate in the class as the clear favourites by the students who attend and enjoy but this one deserves a little boost (I think) as it is so much more than simply ‘the side dish’. It is a bit of a star itself and so perfect for today ; Meatless Monday.

Colourful, rich and spicy stews from Morocco are a wonderful example of dishes that savour and celebrate the vegetable. This dish is beautifully rich and aromatic and wonderfully vibrant in colour – just like Morocco itself.

Vegetarian Moroccan tagine

For the Chermoula
Chermoula is a beautiful spice mix that is used often in Moroccan cooking for great depth of flavour. It is commonly used for marinating fish & chicken. Here, we use it to marinade our delightful array of vegetables.

3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
4 tablespoons of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped (extra, as a garnish, to serve)
4 tablespoons of coriander, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons of fresh mint, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon of dried chilli flakes or use 1 small red chilli, chopped
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

8 shallots
1 large sweet potato (approx. 400g)
1 fennel cut into quarters
4 kipfler potatoes
2 red capsicums, cut into thick-ish strips
1 eggplant, sliced
1 zucchini, cut into six pieces
4 roma tomatoes, quartered (use tinned tomatoes when not in season)
1 cinnamon quill
1 bay leaf
2 cups vegetable stock
12 pitted prunes
1 tin of chickpeas, rinsed

To make the chermoula, mix the garlic, herbs, spices, chilli, lemon juice and vinegar and ‘whizz’ in a food processor. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and process until you have a smooth paste. Season with salt & pepper.

Toss the shallots, sweet potato, fennel, potatoes, capsicum, eggplant and zucchini in chermoula marinade to evenly coat well. Lightly fry the vegetables in a heavy based pot or tagine.  Add the tomatoes, cinnamon, bay leaf, stock and prunes. Mix well and cover to cook for approximately 1 hour or until the vegetables are tender. Add the chickpeas and cook for a furter 20 minutes.

Serve with cous cous and a well deserved glass of wine.