The idea of there being a single perfect formula for vegetable tagine is as absurd as there being just one way to make a good chicken casserole. A tagine is simply the name of the cooking pot in which the stews are traditionally made, rather than the name of a specific recipe (though these days, I’m assured, a saucepan or pressure cooker are more common in Moroccan homes).
And, as Nargisse Benkabbou explains in her book Casablanca, there are four popular styles, regardless of whether the main ingredient is goat, sardines or artichokes. These are mqualli cooked with olive oil, turmeric, ginger and saffron; mhammer made with butter, cumin and paprika; mchermel cooked with chermoula, a zingy herb paste; and one made with tomato, cumin and paprika. Each, Benkabbou says, “can be customised with seasonal vegetables, dried fruit, preserved lemons, olives and nuts”.
I buy a spice mix in France which is precisely the right flavour for this dish. In France, a tagine or a couscous are the equivalent of Britain's tikka marsala. Everyone loves it and has a bash at making it. I mostly agree with Felicity, but I am not keen on turnips, so I always use parsnips, when I can get them here. I would go for a bit more veg variety, so I would add a courgette (always found in Algerian good) some potato, and I put sliced onions but whole shallots. For the stock, I swear by marigold Swiss bouillon, and often meat is served with this in the shape of Merguez spicy sausages made of lamb, but I don't eat meat and don't like fish tagines much, so I always use vegetarian meatballs, and they soak up the flavours perfectly.
Also, not all canned chick peas are the same. If you come across the North African brands, go for these as they are delicious.
Recipe from Green Kitchen Stories
You can use almost any kind of vegetables in this stew, it’s perfect for emptying the fridge.
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced (or 1 tsp grounded)
1-2 tbsp grounded cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
salt
2-3 tsp harissa paste (or dried harissa)
2 cups canned chopped tomatoes
1 lemon, juice and zest
a handful fresh cilantro
1 small pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 zucchini, cut into 2-inch pieces
10 dried apricots
1/2 cup chickpeas/garbanzo beans, pre boiled
a handful raisins
Serve with: white quinoa or couscous, roasted almonds, fresh cilantro and fresh mint
In a clay pot: Heat olive oil in a large clay pot and sauté the onion for a few minutes until it softens. Add garlic, ginger and the spices and stir around before adding harissa, tomatoes, lemon juice and fresh cilantro, Bring the tomato sauce to a boil and then lower the heat.
Add pumpkin, carrots, sweet potato, zucchini and apricots. Stir around, make sure that all vegetables are somewhat covered in tomato sauce. Put the lid on and simmer for about an hour. Stir carefully once or twice, otherwise leave the lid on.
In a tagine: Prepare the tomato sauce according to the instructions above. Transfer it to the tagine. Add the vegetables, attach the lid and put in the oven on low temperature for at least an hour. When the vegetables feel tender, add chickpeas and raisins and let everything simmer for 5 minutes before removing it from the oven.
Serve the tagine in bowls together with cooked quinoa. Sprinkle with almonds, lemon zest and fresh spices.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/mar/25/how-to-cook-the-perfect-vegetable-tagine-recipe
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