Let's continue the La Maison Arabe (/) dada series this Berber Vegetable Tagine, a staple dish in Moroccan cuisine!
WRITTEN RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS:
Vegetables
½ onion
1 medium red-ripe tomato
1 small carrot
1 small turnip
1 small zucchini
1 small potato
½ red bell pepper
100 grams (3.5 oz.) green beans
2 small cauliflower florets
A handful of green peas, shelled
Marinade
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons water
RECIPE:
1- Prepare the vegetables:
- Onion: finely chop
- Tomato: peel, seed, and finely chop
- Carrot: peel, cut in half, slice each half lengthwise, remove and discard the core, then slice each quarter into medium strips
- Turnip: peel, slice in half lengthwise, then slice into medium strips
- Potato: peel and cut into quarters
- Zucchini: trim ends and cut into quarters
- Red bell pepper: trim ends, seed, and slice into medium strips
- Green beans: trim ends and cut into medium strips
2- To make the spice marinade, combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3- Place the chopped onion and tomato in the tagine plate. Add 2 tablespoons of the spice marinade, mix, cover the tagine and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes until the onion and tomato melt into a thick sauce.
4- Nicely display the vegetables in the tagine, starting with the vegetables that take the longest to cook (carrot, turnip, potato) then leaving at the top the ones that take less time to cook (zucchini, cauliflower, red bell pepper, green beans, and green peas).
5- Pour the spice marinade all over the vegetables.
6- Cover the tagine and cook on medium heat for 45 minutes. From time to time check on the vegetables to make sure that there is enough liquid in the tagine. Add water if necessary, but only small amounts at a time. Also, occasionally, take some of the sauce in the tagine and baste it over the vegetables so that those placed on top absorb the marinade flavors.
7- Serve hot with crusty bread.