Forgive me if I get a little exotica on you as I talk about my tagine. My huh? Pull back, Borat, pull back! It’s steamy and impressive. For real, my tagine rocks the casbah.
I won my tagine from a giveaway on Wanna Be a Country Cleaver months and months ago (thanks Megan!) Being the ethnic food lover that I am, I was surprised that I had never heard of a tagine and I fired up google to learn what it was. I broke tagine out of his little tagine nook when no one was home to ask questions and all the only thing going on was Coldplay, hot tea and fuzzy socks. Tagine, where have you been all my life? You’ve earned your spot on the counter.
Tagine is both a food and a cooking tool and originates from North Africa (Moroccan and Tunisian cuisine is tagine-centric). “Tagine,” the dish, was named after the instrument in which the food is prepared. A tagine comprises a sauté pan with a wonderfully shaped hat, traditionally used to slow cook meat and vegetable dishes at low temperatures. You can put the tagine in the oven or use it on the stovetop. It’s wildly cool; beautiful billows of steam form while your food cooks and the hat used to cover the pan creates a sort of spa for your food. If only one could live inside of a Tagine…
While I am exuberant about the tagine, you do not need one in order to make this dish – a large sauté pan or wok with a cover will work too. I adapted this recipe from Katherine Martinelli’s blog and thought I would end up changing a lot more of the recipe than I did. Specifically, I was worried about the cinnamon and the dried apricots but they truly add a nice warmth without being super distinguishable. I was very happy with the recipe, that Katherine did a great job!
Step aside, Sharif, your casbah’s about to get rocked.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
- 1 medium-sized sweet potato, chopped into 1/2” cubes (2 cups worth)
- ½ medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped into ½” cubes (3 cups worth)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¾ cup vegetable broth, separated
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
- 1 cup basmati brown rice (uncooked)
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup chopped cilantro, optional
Instructions
- Start by preparing your rice, as it takes longer than the vegetables. Follow instructions on the package of rice.
- Add oil to a tagine or skillet and heat to medium-high.
- Sauté onion and sweet potato for 3 minutes.
- Add butternut squash, stir.
- Add ¼ cup vegetable broth, all the spices and salt, stir, cover tagine and cook 5 minutes
- Remove the cover, add remaining vegetable broth, garbanzo beans, lemon juice and dried apricots.
- Continue to cook 5 to 8 minutes until butternut squash and sweet potato are soft but not mushy.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Katherine Martinelli http://www.katherinemartinelli.com/blog/2011/vegetable-tagine-couscous-gf-vegan/
I am so so glad that you liked the recipe! I know, the cinnamon and apricots can sound off putting but I’m happy you gave it a shot and enjoyed it
Thanks for the shout out!
I absolutely loved it and thank you for such a wonderful recipe!! I did some research on Moroccan style versus Tunisian style tagines and looks like they use dried fruit quite a bit in their dishes. I think the apricots added a ton of character to the dish and really loved it! I ate the leftovers for like 4 meals in a row!!
wow this sounds fantastic!! I’m so interested in the tagine now, I always thought it would take forever to cook in one of those but this looks quick and easy. And gorgeous photos btw, high five!
Abby recently posted..Mashed Potato Rings – VLOG!
Go for it girl! Go for the tagine glory! You really don’t have to own a tagine to make the dish…the basic idea is to cover it and let the veggies steam, but I gotta tell you, using the tagine makes you feel so exotic, like you really understand the culture of the dish (which I really don’t, but we can pretend
Lots of fun and let me know if you try it!
What a delicious-sounding combo of spices for the butternut! Gorgeous photos too!
Jen @ The Scrumptious Pumpkin recently posted..7 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Bought the Puppy
Why thank you, Jen! Katherine did a phenomenal job with the recipe, so I have much credit to send her way!
This looks delicious, and so, so perfect for fall! I love everything in this!
Maggie @ A Bitchin’ Kitchen recently posted..Brown Butter + Sea Salt + Rolo + Toffee Chunk Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oh my, this sounds so good! I can’t get enough of squash and sweet potatoes this time of year so this is calling me!
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