moroccan tangine, anyone?

do you want a dish that you can serve your vegetarian friends, but your meat loving friends won't roll their eyes at? not only that, but it's incredibly healthy and unlike tofu, it has enormous flavor and aroma. try this moroccan tangine:

moroccan tangine

ingredients:

1 head garlic, chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cups vegetable stock (I used Trader Joe's individual vegetable stock concentrate and added water)
1 14 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1 red pepper, chopped
1 pound butternut squash, cut into roughly 1 inch cubes
1 medium eggplant, chopped into roughly 1 inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 box prepared couscous

Heat up olive oil in large stew pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions and garlic. Stir for 1 minute, then turn heat down to medium. Let cook about 7 minutes. Add dry spices and let cook 1 minute until fragrant. Add lemon juice.

Add parsley and 1/4 cup cilantro. Add tomatoes and bring to boil. Add in vegetable stock, chickpeas and butternut squash. Cook, simmering, 1 hour.

Salt eggplant pieces, let rest 2 minutes then rinse well with water and add, along with crushed red pepper flakes, and chopped red pepper to stew.  

Cook additional 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add additional seasoning to taste. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup cilantro. 

i found this recipe at the alchemist chef and adjusted it to my liking (basically removing the raisins and celery and adding an additional carrot).


i didn't have too high of hopes for it, because its basically heaps of vegetables with a few seasonings. but it was an astounding success. both aaron and i agreed it was one of the best meals we have had in awhile.


the only draw back would be the amount of time involved. it probably isn't a weekday meal. i started it after work at 7 and we didn't eat until 9:30. but it would be an awesome weekend meal. if you have a persistent meat eater, i'm sure some diced or shredded chicken would not hurt the recipe either. 


if you make it, let me know what you think!