Name: Veg Tagine
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: Serves 6

1 pinch of saffron
4 cloves of garlic
4 cm piece of ginger
olive oil
1 teaaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ras el hanout
1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste
2.5 kg mixed veg , such as aubergines, courgettes, carrots, cherry tomatoes, red onion, butternut squash, mixed-colour peppers
1 x 400 g tin of chickpeas
100 g dried apricots
1 preserved lemon
300 g couscous
½ a bunch of mixed fresh herbs , such as dill, mint, flat-leaf parsley (15g)
20 g flaked almonds

Method

step 1
Put the saffron into a jug, cover with 500ml of boiling water and leave to infuse.
step 2
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.
step 3
Add the tomato paste, fry for a few minutes, stirring regularly, then pour over the saffron water
step 4
Trim and prep the veg, as necessary, then chop into large chunks, adding them to the pan as you go.
step 5
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.
step 6
Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.
step 7
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.
step 8
Pick the herb leaves and toast the almonds. Serve the tagine and couscous sprinkled with the almonds and herbs.

Veg Tagine