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Tajine with Vegetables

17/11/2023

Vegetable tajine is a delicious and colorful North African dish, typical especially of Moroccan cuisine. It’s slowly cooked in a special type of clay pot also called tajine. However, if you do not have a tajine, you can cook the dish in a saucepan with a lid.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into pieces
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into pieces
  • 2 zucchinis, sliced
  • 2 carrots, cut into sticks
  • 1 eggplant, cut into cubes
  • 3 ripe tomatoes, cut into pieces
  • 400 g of cooked chickpeas (rinsed if canned)
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Vegetable broth as needed
  • A bunch of chopped fresh coriander
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • Pitted green olives (optional)

Preparation

  1. Heat the olive oil in a tajine or in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until they become translucent.

  2. Add the bell peppers, zucchinis, carrots, and eggplant. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables start to become tender.

  3. Mix in the tomatoes, chickpeas, spices (cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and paprika), salt, and pepper. Stir well to evenly distribute the spices.

  4. Add enough vegetable broth until the vegetables are almost covered.

  5. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer slowly for about 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

  6. Towards the end of cooking, add the lemon zest and fresh coriander, and if you like, you can also add some green olives.

  7. Once the vegetables are cooked and the liquid has been absorbed, adjust the seasoning with salt and spices and serve hot.

The tajine dish is often prepared with the addition of meat, but in this vegetarian version, the proteins are provided by the chickpeas, and the richness of flavors by the spices and the vegetables themselves.

Curiosity

The tajine, in addition to being the name of the dish, refers to the particular pot used to cook it. Its conical shape allows optimal circulation of steam, which contributes to making the food particularly tender and aromatic.

Tajine with Vegetables