Vegetable Tagine is a vegetarian Moroccan stew loaded with heady warm spices. Make this with any veg you have – just don’t skimp on the spices!!
This is one of those hidden gems that will please just about everyone. It’s meat-free, gluten-free, low-carb, low calorie, extremely filling AND tasty. Wait – it’s even vegan. Yay vegans!
Vegetable Tagine
Last week, I asked readers what type of recipes they’d like to see more of on RecipeTin Eats this year. The themes in demand were clear: More meat-free, more low calorie, more low-carb.
BUT still insanely tasty of course! And if it could also be made in one-pot, be super-easy, as well as super-quick … well that would be just dandy. 😂
Though I wouldn’t classify it as super-quick, calling for a good 45 minutes cook time to make the vegetables tender and absorb all those wonderful flavours, it’s certainly very easy.
So, this is the first recipe I’m delivering in response to reader demand!
Tagine is a Moroccan stew traditionally cooked in, well, a tagine. This is an earthenware cooking vessel with a cone shaped lid in which steam circulates as it cooks, letting the flavoured condensation drips back down into the stew.
But we’re using a good ole’ Dutch oven today. And it’s ok! 😉
Ingredients in Vegetable Tagine
When you see the load of spices in this, you know your tastebuds are in for a good time. But isn’t it nice when they’re all everyday spices you can find at the grocery store? 🙂
While this has a generous amount of spices in it, it’s not the kapow! flavour like you get in Indian curries. It’s more of a warm spice mix.
The cayenne does add a touch of fire, so just skip it if you don’t want any heat in it at all!
And here’s what goes in the Vegetable Tagine. This one’s all about using what you’ve got, so don’t be concerned if you don’t have all the vegetables!
Here’s what I used:
Chickpeas – This is the only starch in this dish, adding a nice nutty texture and bulks it out. Substitute with any other beans;
Lemon – For a fresh finishing touch, both the zest and juice;
Onion & garlic – The usual flavour base suspects; and
Vegetables – Here, butternut pumpkin/squash, capsicum/bell peppers, green beans, eggplant (aubergine), cauliflower and tomato (which sort of becomes part of the sauce). This is a nice combination of colours and textures that’s in season at the same time, making this a terrifically economical dish.
How to make Vegetable Tagine
A key step here to extract the most flavour out of each vegetable is to pan roast each vegetable individually to get some colour on them before simmering with heavily spice doused liquid. Because after all, as I always say, colour = flavour!
Saute onion and garlic first (our flavour base, as mentioned);
Pan-roast each vegetable individually, just to get some colour on them. We don’t cook them through, we just give them a blush of colour;
Cook the tomato for a minute. This effectively deglazes the pan (ie. gets all the tasty stuff off the bottom of the pan from sautéing the veg into our stew). Then add spices and cook for a minute to let the flavours bloom;
Add all the vegetables back in as well as water. (Yep, water, not stock. In a true tagine, all the flavour comes from the ingredients alone.) The water should almost cover the vegetables, but not quite, remembering that the vegetables will sink as they cook. If you add too much water, you’ll end up with a watery sauce;
Bring to a simmer;
Cook, covered, in the oven for 30 minutes. This is the easiest way, because it requires no stirring. You could also simmer on the stove over a super low heat, but stir gently so the vegetables don’t turn into mush;
Add the green beans and chickpeas, then simmer on the stove for 15 minutes to reduce the liquid. At this stage, the pumpkin and cauliflower are quite soft, partially breaking down, which helps thicken the liquid. It shouldn’t be soupy, but it should be brothy. Trust me when I say – you want that broth!!
Finally, stir through lemon zest and lemon juice. A fresh finishing touch works wonders here to lift and brighten the dish, as it does with many others from a Lentil Soup to Magic Broccoli (aptly named as such because it’s so simple but so good!).
I love how the broth is naturally thickened by the vegetables that are soft cooked so they ever so slightly disintegrate into the sauce. Flavour, flavour, flavour!
What to serve with Vegetable Tagine
For a traditional experience, serve with couscous. I’ve put the post up separately as it’s a handy and quick no-cook side dish for many dishes, not just Morrocan or Middle Eastern food.
With all the flavours going on in the tagine, a plain couscous would be just fine, but I’m not one to say no to a sprinkling of fresh herbs, or dried fruit and nuts!
Alternatives:
Standalone – just a big bowl of this like a really chunky, hearty stew
Any rice (white, brown, basmati, lemon flavoured would also be lovely)
Quinoa
Cauliflower rice (for a very big satisfying low-carb, low calorie meal!)
Homemade or store bought flatbreads for dunking
I’ve also added a dollop of yogurt, a nice and cooling, creamy touch that compliments the rich combination of spices nicely. A sprinkle of slightly predictable coriander/cilantro and a pinch of cayenne pepper for a dusting of extra spice. Because, well, why not? 😇 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Vegetable Tagine
Ingredients
Tagine spice mix:
- 1 tbsp cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 1/2 tsp ground fennel seeds / fennel powder
- 1 tsp cayenne (omit for non-spicy)
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
Tagine (Note 1):
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 red onion sliced; (sub any type of onion)
- 1 garlic clove , finely minced
- 800g/1.6lb butternut pumpkin / squash (1/2 a small), peeled, cut into 2.5cm / 1" cubes
- 1 small eggplant , cut into 2.5cm / 1/2″ cubes
- 1/2 cauliflower head , small, cut into bite size florets
- 1 capsicum / bell pepper , cut into 2.5cm / 1" pieces (red or yellow)
- 2 tomatoes , seeds removed, cut into 1cm / 1/3″ dice
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 400g/ 14oz canned chickpeas , drained
- 200g / 60z green beans , cut into 3.5cm / 1.5" pieces (~2 cups cut)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Garnishes / for serving:
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds , toasted
- 1/4 cup coriander / cilantro , roughly chopped
- Plain yogurt
- Pinch of paprika or cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Combine Tagine Spice Mix ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook until onion is wilted (~ 1 1/2 minutes), then remove to a large bowl. Scrape out any remaining garlic bits from pan (so they don't burn).
- Add pumpkin / squash and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until lightly golden on most sides. Remove to same bowl.
- Add 2 tbsp olive oil. Cook eggplant for 3 minutes until tinged with gold on most sides, remove to same bowl.
- Add 1 tbsp oil if pot is looking dry. Add capsicum and cauliflower, cook for 2 minutes until the cauliflower is a bit golden on the edges. Remove into bowl.
- Add tomato and cook for 1 minute. Add Spice Mix, stir for 1 minute.
- Add all vegetables back to pot. Add water (it should just about cover the vegetables, they will sink), salt and pepper. Stir, bring to simmer on stove, then transfer to oven for 30 minutes. (Alternatively simmer on low stove, but stir gently otherwise veg may breakdown too much.)
- Remove from oven, add beans and chickpeas. Simmer for 15 minutes uncovered on stove on medium-low to cook the beans and reduce the sauce.
- Stir through lemon juice and zest. The idea here is that some of the veg (butternut, cauliflower) breaks down a bit to slightly thicken the sauce. It also gets thicker left overnight.
- For a traditional experience, serve over couscous. Otherwise, try white, brown, or basmati rice, or quinoa. Or, serve just as is like a chunky stew. For a low-carb option try cauliflower rice! I like to top mine with a dollop of yogurt, a sprinkle of almonds, coriander/cilantro and a pinch of paprika or cayenne.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Really doesn’t like his daily post-beach showers. Kind of ironic, isn’t it, that he spent the last hour swimming?
Yep loved the recipe but prep time was miles out … More like 45 mins and I’m experienced in the kitchen!
Sorry it took you so long Bron, it usually takes me about 15 minutes to prep the veg here 🙂 N x
Very yummy! It was a bit watery for my taste so I got the stick blender on it and pulsed a couple of times which made a really thick sauce. Love that it’s low calorie and vegan friendly 🙂
Hi Nagi,
This looks great. Would it be possible to make in a slow cooker? If so, how long would you cook it for.
Thanks!
Hi Elle, no it’s not suitable for a sow cooker sorry! N x
Made this for a ‘Moroccan’ night we were hosting and it didn’t disappoint. Followed the recipe v closely (unusual for me!) and it turned out exactly how it looked in the pics and on the video! Yay, victory! And it tasted yum…I could have added more cayenne, but didn’t want to risk it!
Hi Nagi, help!! Made today for tomorrow night but way too spicey. Maybe I made mistake in the amount of cayenne/spices:(
Any remedy??
Dairy tones done chilli/excess spices. Dairy – milk, cream ideally or sour cream, yoghurt if you don’t mind extra acidity. Dairy has casein which bonds to capsaicin in chilli making it neutral = less heat. Hope that helps 🙂
Hi Nagi! Is that 400g of chickpeas before draining or after?
It’s a 400g can of chickpeas which is 240g drained 🙂
This was delicious!
Hi Nagi, I’m very keen to make this but don’t have a tagine or Dutch oven. Do you think it would work in the pressure cooker and if so how long please.
TIA
Jo
Hi Jo – this recipe as written isn’t suitable for a pressure cooker sorry, you can just use a heavy based saucepan to cook it though. N x
Absolutely delicious, cooked it in my tagine. Teenage son said ‘This food is incredible.’ Served with pearl cous cous and wild rice. Yoghurt and slivered almonds on top. Thank you for the awesome recipe.
Made tonight for dinner very tasty will add beans when putting it in the oven next time. Served with wholemeal couscous creme creche and coriander
My friend made this for our friend dinner, and I loved it. Thought I might add a few chopped apricots if I made it again. She said that it took forever to make and I must admit, looking at the prep time, 15 minutes seems a little off for chopping all those veggies and then browning each individually. I think chopping up the squash alone would take 15 minutes. I find this inaccurate prep time all too often in recipes, and usually automatically double the prep time in my head. I think all these recipe developers must have an army of helpers doing all the prep work for them, but I know that is not the case with your recipes Nagi.
Hi Kate, sorry she found the prep time off – I try to base this on what it usually takes me give or take a little extra time. I suppose prep time is a guide too depending on your kitchen skillset – so that needs to be taken into account too. N x
This was awesome!! Love the simplicity and deliciousness of your recipes. Thank you 😊
This was delicious! Faithful to the recipe apart from a vegetable stock cube and umami stock cube really lifted the flavour. Was a little afraid of all the spice but it really does all need to go in. I will be cooking this again
Hi Nagi – I’m going to make this tonight as we love all of your recipes. Have you made it in a tagine before? I have one and thought I might use it but wondered if it would change the process?
Hi Dee – yes perfect for the Tagine with the same instructions 🙂 N x
I followed the recipe but it was quite bland,maybe I am too used to tagines with meat. I added fresh coriander and a bit of harrissa to spice it up. The green beans took more than 15 minutes to be cooked and some veggies ended up overcooked. Regardless,thank you for all the wonderful recipes.
Hi Marianne, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this. I’ve never been accused of NOT having enough flavour in a dish!!! Is there a possibility your spices were old because spices do lose flavour with age 🙂 N xx
The next day flavours had developed more and I enjoyed it much better ( I didn’t put any chilli maybe that is why it was initially a bit bland) so I added couple of stars as i found it very fulfilling. It is a recipe to repeat.
Always love every single creation of yours Nagi… so I simply had to try this. Needless to say it turned out fabulous. I used squash, eggplant and threw in spinach at the end instead of beans. I served it over a bowl of foxtail millets. I wish I had a way to upload pictures to this comment.
I made this Tagine recipe. I only used 1/2 eggplant as my Dutch Oven was full. It was an excellent recipe, very easy to follow and delicious. Served with couscous. YUM.
Delicious as always! I’ve been on a north African food kick, so this was wonderfully timed. It worked well with the veggies I had in the fridge, and I tossed in some chicken (sorry) to up the protein. A great cosy meal for us northern hemisphere folks. Thanks, Nagi!
And she does it again..5STARS!
I used a mix of root veg (squash, sweet potato, rutabaga) and threw in some cabbage and zucchini as well. Absolutely delicious, even better the next day. In addition to Nagi’s toppings I chopped up some preserved lemons. This dish is definitely a do over, and already pinned to my Allstar page.
WOOT! Sounds perfect Rochelle!!! N x
OMG! Amazing! Even the meat lover said add this to the schedule! Can’t wait to have left overs tomorrow. Thanks for offering vego recipes and especially healthy ones! Xx
Hi Tracie, I’m so glad it was a hit! Leftovers are even better the nest day!! N x
On a side note Nagi I just asked my meat loving husband what he wants for dinner tonight and he requested I make this again! 😂 and yes it was even better the next day. Thanks again. 😊