Veg
By Jamie Oliver
Wonderful veg tagine
Saffron, preserved lemons, apricots, fluffy couscous & toasted almonds
1 hr
Not Too Tricky
serves 6
Recipe From
Ingredients
1 pinch of saffron
4 cloves of garlic
4cm piece of ginger
olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ras el hanout
1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste
2.5kg mixed veg, such as aubergines, courgettes, carrots, cherry tomatoes, red onion, butternut squash, mixed-colour peppers
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
100g dried apricots
1 preserved lemon
300g couscous
½ a bunch of mixed fresh herbs, such as dill, mint, flat-leaf parsley (15g)
20g flaked almonds
Top Tip
In the summer I grow most of these vegetables, and I'm always eager to pick, wash and race to cook this dish – the flavour is just extraordinary with tender, delicate veg.
Method
- Put the saffron into a jug, cover with 500ml of boiling water and leave to infuse.
- Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic and ginger, then place in a large casserole pan over a medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil, the cumin, cinnamon and ras el hanout.
- Add the tomato paste, fry for a few minutes, stirring regularly, then pour over the saffron water. Trim and prep the veg, as necessary, then chop into large chunks, adding them to the pan as you go.
- Tip in the chickpeas (juices and all), roughly chop and add the apricots and preserved lemon, discarding any pips, then season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.
- When the veg are almost tender, just cover the couscous with boiling water, season with salt and pepper and pop a plate on top. Leave for 10 minutes, then fluff and fork up.
- Pick the herb leaves and toast the almonds. Serve the tagine and couscous sprinkled with the almonds and herbs. Delicious served with harissa rippled yoghurt.
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