Moroccan Vegetable and Honey Dream Tagine

Whilst I've been enjoying going out to eat now that restaurants and cafes are back open again, I'm also still finding it really fun to experiment with new dishes and new flavours at home. One of the tastiest dishes I've whipped up lately is this deliciously dreamy vegetable and honey tagine.

If you've not heard of this dish before, a tagine is a spiced stew that has it's origins in North Africa, and is traditionally cooked in - and named after - a special type of terracotta pot. Unfortunately I don't own a teracotta pot (and I'm sure many of you don't either!) but if I do say so myself, my Moroccan-inspired version of the dish was still super yummy! It was comforting, full of goodness and subtly sweet, plus as it's all cooked in the one pot you save time on washing up - yay! Admittedly this tagine is a bit of a longer recipe and has quite a few ingredients, but it's actually not that complex. And if I can do it, you definitely can too!

If you fancy giving this vegetable and honey dream tagine a go for yourself, check out my step-by-step clip on YouTube and read on for the full ingredient list and method. I really hope you love it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

• One large courgette

• Two red bell peppers

• Two big juicy garlic cloves

• A 2cm piece of root ginger

• One teaspoon of oil - I used vegetable but you could use sunflower or olive

• One teaspoon of paprika

• One teaspoon of ground cinnamon

• One teaspoon of cumin seeds

• One teaspoon of tomato puree

• 200 grams - or half a tin - of chopped tomatoes

• 200 grams of drained chickpeas

• 100 millilitres of vegetable stock

• Two teaspoons of delicious, gloopy, runny honey

• A splash of lemon juice

• A generous handful of raisins

• A sprinkling of salt & pepper

• Two portions of cous cous, cooked per packet instructions with veg stock & a sprinkle of raisins

Method:

1. Start off by thinly slicing your courgette, then cutting each slice into quarters

2. Next, chop your bell peppers into small chunks, then peel and finely chop your garlic cloves and put all this to one side

3. Grab your ginger root, peel it, then grate it using the smallest holes on the grater (and if you're clumsy like me - be careful not to grate your fingers like I did!)

4. Pop a large saucepan on the hob over a medium heat and add your oil - then once it's nice 'n' hot throw in the garlic & ginger and let this cook for five minutes

5. Once this time's up, chuck your paprika, cinnamon and cumin seeds into the pan and cook for another minute

6. Next, you need to add the tomato puree and chopped tomatoes into the pan and give everything a good ol' stir

7. Then throw in your chickpeas, chopped up courgette and bell pepper, plus your generous handful of raisins and stir well again

8. Leave the contents of the pan to bubble away whilst you boil the kettle and make your stock

9. Once it's ready stir it into the pan, then add your gooey honey and stir again

10. Simmer your tagine over a low heat for about half an hour, stirring every five minutes or so

11. Whilst it's cooking, make enough vegetable stock to cook your cous cous - this should be written on the packet. (Tip: if you want the cous cous to be a little sweet, try adding a teaspoon of honey to the pan too!)

12. Cook your cous cous about five minutes before your tagine will be ready, then at the same time splash your lemon juice and sprinkle your salt & pepper into the tagine

13. Dish up your cous cous, chucking in a few raisins in there too, then pile your dreamy tagine on top and tuck in!

Although this tagine is served warm, when paired with the light and fluffy cous cous I think it makes the perfect summertime dish - I know I'd definitely serve it to family and friends at a summer dinner party! It's also not too difficult or lengthy to make, so you could easily cook it for dinner after work, or prep it the night before and eat it for lunch. We made it for dinner and it was lovely and filling - we even had a little left over for seconds!

I think this Moroccan vegetable and honey dream tagine is the perfect dish for those of you who have a bit of a sweet tooth; the cinnamon, raisins and honey both add a delightful sugary flavour that cut through the sharp tang of the tomato base magnificently. This tagine is a vegan dish, but if you're a meat eater you can always add some chicken or beef if you like! With the cous cous, I decided to simply add a few raisins to make it a bit more interesting, but you could even add some finely chopped sundried tomatoes or olives if you wanted to create a more Mediterranean flavour palette to compliment the tagine.

I hope you're inspired to create your own dream tagine, and be sure to let me know in the comments what you think of this recipe! Happy cooking!