Recipe- Low Calorie And Tasty Vegetable Tagine

Vegetable Tagine is a vegetarian Moroccan stew loaded with heady warm spices. Make this with any veg you have – just don’t skimp on the spices!! This is one of those hidden gems that will please just about everyone. It’s meat-free, gluten-free, low-carb, low calorie, extremely filling AND tasty. Wait – it’s even vegan. Yay vegans!

Ingredients

Tagine spice mix:

1 tbsp cardamom powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 1/2 tsp ground fennel seeds / fennel powder
1 tsp cayenne (omit for non-spicy)
2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Tagine:

5 tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion sliced;
1 garlic clove , finely minced
800g/1.6lb butternut pumpkin / squash (1/2 a small), peeled, cut into 2.5cm / 1" cubes
1 small eggplant , cut into 2.5cm / 1/2″ cubes
1/2 cauliflower head , small, cut into bite size florets
1 capsicum / bell pepper , cut into 2.5cm / 1" pieces (red or yellow)
2 tomatoes , seeds removed, cut into 1cm / 1/3″ dice
3 1/2 cups water
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
400g/ 14oz canned chickpeas , drained
200g / 60z green beans , cut into 3.5cm / 1.5" pieces
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp lemon juice

Garnishes / for serving:

1/2 cup slivered almonds , toasted
1/4 cup coriander / cilantro , roughly chopped
Plain yogurt
Pinch of paprika or cayenne pepper

Method

- Combine Tagine Spice Mix ingredients.

- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.

- 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, salt and pepper. Stir, bring to simmer on stove, then transfer to oven for 30 minutes.

- 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.