Spice Stall on Marrakesh Market
Ingredients
- 400 g (1 lb) butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cubed
- 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for tossing and cooking
- 200 g (8 oz) courgettes, halved lengthways and thickly sliced
- 1 large red onion, halved and thickly sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic sliced
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 6 green cardamom pods, seeds only, lightly crushed
- 400 g (1 lb) tinned chopped tomatoes, juice included
- 200 ml (7fl oz) vegetable stock
- 2 oranges, rind only cut in large strips
- 10 dried apricots thickly sliced
- 2 tbsp dried cherries
- 400 g (1 lb) tin of chickpeas, drained
- 115 g (4.oz) whole fresh okra
- 2 fresh green chillies, de-seeded and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- 2 lemons for squeezing
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
In an oven dish, toss the squash in a little olive oil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until tender and beginning to caramelise. In a separate dish, do the same with the courgette, but roast for just 10-15 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy flameproof casserole dish and sauté the onion for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the garlic and spices (ginger, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cardamom), and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more.
Add the roasted butternut squash, courgettes, onions and tomatoes with their juice, the stock, orange rind, dried fruit (apricots and cherries) and chickpeas. Bring to the boil, cover the pan and place it in the oven to simmer for 40-50 minutes.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add the okra and chillies, and fry for 2 minutes, until the okra is tender but still firm and lightly coloured.
Remove the pan from the oven and stir in the chopped herbs (parsley and coriander) and serve the tagine with the stir fried okra and chillies and some lemon juice squeezed over each portion.
To soak up all the unctuous juice, serve the tagine and stir fried chilli-ed okra with fresh warm bread, couscous or rice or even perhaps some naan bread.
If you don’t like okra or can’t get it, then by all means change it for perhaps sugar snap peas, green beans, broccoli or some other crispy veg that you enjoy stir fried.
And if you can’t afford to buy the dried cherries (which are available in most health food shops here in the UK but are a bit expensive) you can always add a few sultanas, raisins or possibly a handful of dates that have been soaked in a little lemon or lime juice for an hour or so before you put them into the tagine.
Likewise, if you can’t find or afford the fresh ginger, you may like to try a little ground ginger – I would recommend you add a tsp or so to start with and then just adjust to your taste throughout the cooking. If you haven’t got fresh parsley and coriander to hand then, add a pinch(not 2 tbsp as per the above ingredients list!) of dried into the tagine about 10-15 mins before serving.
Read more: http://notecook.com/desserts/fruits/vegan-moroccan-tagine/#ixzz1hHRWiCfn
