RECIPE

Chickpea Tagine

  • ACTIVE: 20 MIN
  • TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 40 MIN plus overnight soaking
  • SERVINGS: 6

Christine Manfield drew from her travels to plan the menu at her Universal Restaurant in Sydney; she created this fragrant stew after a trip to Morocco's High Atlas Mountains.

  • ACTIVE: 20 MIN
  • TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 40 MIN
  • OTHER TIME:
  • SERVINGS: 6
  • HEALTHY
  • MAKE-AHEAD
  • VEGETARIAN

Ingredients

  • Ingredients
    1. 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
    2. 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
    3. 1 quart plus 2 tablespoons water
    4. 1 large onion, finely diced
    5. 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
    6. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
    7. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    8. 2 teaspoons ground cumin
    9. One 3-inch cinnamon stick
    10. 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
    11. 1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
    12. 2 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
    13. One 14.5 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
    14. Salt
    15. 2 small zucchini, diced
    16. 1 tablespoon minced preserved lemon rind
    17. Freshly ground black pepper
    18. 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
    19. Yogurt and harissa, for serving

Directions

  1. In a saucepan, cover the chickpeas with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until tender, 45 minutes. Drain.
  2. In a bowl, crumble the saffron in the 2 tablespoons of water; steep for 10 minutes.
  3. In a deep skillet, cook the onion and gar­lic in the butter and oil over moderate heat until golden, 8 minutes. Add the cumin, cin­namon stick and crushed red pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the saffron water, chickpeas, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, the quart of water and a large pinch of salt; bring to a boil, then simmer until the squash and potatoes are tender, 30 minutes.
  4. Add the zucchini and the preserved lemon; simmer until the zucchini is tender, 5 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick. Season the tagine with salt and pepper and stir in the cilantro. Serve in bowls with yogurt and harissa.