Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Yellow onion, sliced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 tsp Ground cumin
• 1 ½ tsp Ground coriander
• 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground turmeric
• 1 tsp Ground ginger
• 4 cups Butternut squash, cubed
• 3 Carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 cans Chickpeas, canned no-salt-added, drained
• 1 can Diced tomatoes, no salt added
• ¾ cup Dried apricots, halved
• 2 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 ¼ tsp Kosher salt
• 1 Lemon
• ½ cup Cilantro
• ⅜ cup Raw almonds, toasted and chopped
• 1 ½ cups Whole wheat couscous (dry)

Method

1. Cook the onions in the oil over medium for 10 minutes until soft and just golden. Add the garlic for a minute.
2. Add all the ground spices and stir them in the hot oil for 45 seconds until they smell toasted. Blooming spices in fat rather than dropping them into liquid is what separates a tagine from a vegetable soup.
3. Add the squash, carrots, chickpeas, tomatoes, apricots, broth and salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 30 minutes until the squash is tender but not collapsed.
4. Uncover and simmer 10 minutes more to thicken.
5. Finish with the zest and juice of the lemon — the acid at the end is what keeps all that sweetness from being cloying.
6. Steam the couscous. Serve the tagine over it with cilantro and toasted almonds.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

Lemon zest as well as juice, right at the end. It stands in for the preserved lemon a Moroccan cook would use.

🧒 For the kids

Sweet, soft and mild. The apricots are usually the selling point; leave the almonds off if nuts are an issue.

🥡 Leftovers

Keeps 5 days, freezes 3 months, and the flavor keeps improving for two days.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.