Recipe video above. A vegetarian Moroccan stew loaded with heady and warm spices, filled with tender vegetables. Make this with any veg you have - just don't skimp on the spices!!Pan-roasting each vegetable to get a bit of colour on them before simmering is worth the effort to get the most flavour out of the vegetables. Because colour = flavour! Serve with couscous.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook until onion is wilted (~ 1 1/2 minutes), then remove to a large bowl. Scrape out any remaining garlic bits from pan (so they don't burn).
Add pumpkin / squash and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until lightly golden on most sides. Remove to same bowl.
Add 2 tbsp olive oil. Cook eggplant for 3 minutes until tinged with gold on most sides, remove to same bowl.
Add 1 tbsp oil if pot is looking dry. Add capsicum and cauliflower, cook for 2 minutes until the cauliflower is a bit golden on the edges. Remove into bowl.
Add tomato and cook for 1 minute. Add Spice Mix, stir for 1 minute.
Add all vegetables back to pot. Add water (it should just about cover the vegetables, they will sink), salt and pepper. Stir, bring to simmer on stove, then transfer to oven for 30 minutes. (Alternatively simmer on low stove, but stir gently otherwise veg may breakdown too much.)
Remove from oven, add beans and chickpeas. Simmer for 15 minutes uncovered on stove on medium-low to cook the beans and reduce the sauce.
Stir through lemon juice and zest. The idea here is that some of the veg (butternut, cauliflower) breaks down a bit to slightly thicken the sauce. It also gets thicker left overnight.
For a traditional experience, serve over couscous. Otherwise, try white, brown, or basmati rice, or quinoa. Or, serve just as is like a chunky stew. For a low-carb option try cauliflower rice! I like to top mine with a dollop of yogurt, a sprinkle of almonds, coriander/cilantro and a pinch of paprika or cayenne.
Notes
1. Vegetables - You can really use any vegetables you want in this recipe. It's intended that most of the vegetables are cooked until quite tender. Only the green beans are added later to preserve some of the green colour.It's also intentional that cauliflower and pumpkin sort of start of break down a bit. This actually acts as a natural thickener for the sauce.2. To add meat - I'd use a couple of teaspoons of the spice mix on bite size chicken thighs plus oil, salt and pepper. Sear before tomato, once browned on outside but still raw inside, add tomato, proceed with recipe as written. YUM.3. Storage - Keeps 5 days in the fridge. Gets thicker and chunkier - I think it's even better on Days 2 and 3! A spritz of fresh lemon juice will help lift it, the longer you keep it.Tagine can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in fridge then reheat preferably in microwave (excessive stirring on stove can make veg breakdown too much).4. Nutrition per serving assuming 8 serves, tagine only (ie no couscous) and no toppings. This really is so full of flavour it can be served like a really hearty stew-soup, just by itself.